The War of the Assassins
by Cutlass317
Summary: What happens when a war between some sword-wielding, magic-casting, cold-blooded Elite Assassins involve the Gundam pilots? Total chaos. Fantasy, action, drama, angst, and romance. Not an AU or Crossover. Some 1xR and nonyaoi. Please REVIEW!!!
1. Default Chapter

The War of the Assassins ****

Disclaimer: (I have no idea why anyone would sue me for writing a fanfic but people have disclaimers so I guess I'll add one too) I don't own Gundam Wing so please don't sue me for writing this fanfic. Besides I don't have any money so it'd be a waste of time. Oh, and I'm writing this fanfic for fun, not for money so don't hold that against me either. 

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The War of the Assassins

"I need you to destroy Odessa Arrowney," said the most powerful and influential man on the planet. He even had a black, tall-backed, leather chair to swivel around in as he faced his hired goons. _Like me_, mused Strife Mercury, _though I hardly consider myself a goon._

Strife felt that there was good reason for that (although he was obviously biased on the subject). He considered his physique for a second and decided that he most likely didn't _look_ too dangerous: he was tall and slender – not bulky and built. But other Assassins had told him that he possessed a sort of subtle, unpronounced strength, and that his emerald green eyes gazing out from under his unruly black bangs held a deadly, cold look. 

__

The huge, blood red, five-foot sword I'm carrying on my back that appears to be on fire certainly helps too. I bet no goon the Baron has ever hired had one of those. In any other situation, Strife would probably have chuckled at this thought, but there were more serious things to consider. Like what his employer had just said. About _Odessa_. _Uh oh. How am I going to get out of this one? _His mind raced to find an appropriate response. 

"Destroy Siren?" he finally replied rather incredulously. The Baron rewarded his query with a dark glare. Strife cursed silently to himself, remembering too late that he wasn't supposed to have opinions on anything. Or more importantly: he was _never_ supposed to talk back to his employers. 

"I doubt that she would be much of a problem for the greatest Blade Mage Assassin who ever lived now would she?" retorted the other, larger man, with no small amount of sarcasm.

"But," 'she's your daughter!'was what Strife intended to say, but protocol and a certain irritating, cliché-ridden Assassin's Code held him at bay. He settled rather lamely on "But of course, my Lord," instead. 

"Good. My secretary will brief you and give you half of your pay – the other half will be given to you when you destroy her."

Strife started. These days most Rookie Assassins (or Mercenaries as they were more commonly called) were paid half up front, half later since they were not to be trusted to finish the job. The thought that the Baron didn't believe that _he_, an Elite Assassin, could finish the job intrigued him, rather than offended him. Strife had not failed to assassinate any of his targets – only a fool would ignore such a spotless record. So it had to be something else that had made the Baron distrust him. 

The realization of what the only possible alternative was hit him like a bolt of lightening. He felt a feeling of cold dread wash over him, which he had never felt before. _Oh no…it can't be – _

"Oh, and Strife – I understand that you seem to have shared some sort of past relationship with the Siren," said the deep voice of the Baron. 

__

Damn it! Strife felt himself stiffen as he heard what the Baron said. _God I can't believe I let that leak out! _He presently felt another emotion that he hadn't felt for an untold amount of time: anger. Strife was absolutely furious at whoever had spread that closely guarded secret. He vowed to destroy the pathetic worm as soon as he found out who it was.

Another swift realization interrupted Strife's chain of thoughts. The Baron was _waiting_ for him to speak; waiting for him to confirm the damning statement that he had had a relationship with a target - with a fellow _Blade Mage Assassin_ for God's sake. He decided that the best answer was no answer and gave the Baron his characteristic cold glare instead. 

The Baron unexpectedly chuckled at his cool austerity. "A real Elite Assassin, aren't you Strife?" The large man laughed some more, great roaring laughs that made his muscular chest heave and Strife's ears ring. "I don't know whether to be honored that you've slept with my daughter or to be furious."

Strife felt himself color, which was another first. He decided that he didn't like the feeling of embarrassment. 

The Baron laughed at him yet again and then his expression abruptly darkened. "Just don't let anything you've shared together get in your way. You know that I wouldn't be saying this if I didn't suspect a real problem…and if there happens to be one, I wouldn't be surprised if this little tidbit about you and my daughter becomes public knowledge." He smiled as if he relished the thought, and then his face became stern again. "Now get out of my sight."

Strife nodded and swiftly took his leave; feeling enraged all over again. He loathed being threatened and hated being helpless even more. The Baron had him completely in his control, and there was nothing Strife could do about it short of destroying him; which would result rather quickly in his own destruction. 

Strife scowled. He had been taught that his career was everything – no woman could ever mean more to an Assassin than his sword, and he had thought that this was true. Until he met the Baron's daughter that is. _Even so…he leaves me no choice. _

I'm sorry Odessa. 

A lone woman stood in the sunny meadow, apparently unaware of the five Gundams that were about to destroy her. She saw them of course, as they were extremely hard to miss. But she did nothing, and was not frightened, as one would expect her to be. Stray strands of her midnight blue hair whipped in the warm breeze as her violet eyes gazed unconcernedly at the deadly mobile suits like one would gaze at birds in the sky. 

"Isn't she supposed to be running away from us in hysterics screaming 'IT'S A GUNDAM!!!" right about now?" asked Duo, bemused. "I know that Sally said that Siren was tough – I mean she _is_ the leader of the strongest rebellion we've ever faced – but you either have to be invincible or just plain stupid to not be even a little bit afraid when faced with all five of the legendary Gundams." 

The other four pilots were just as nonplussed. They had never met a person who was absolutely unafraid of their formidable mobile suits. Sure, certain people had been fearless when the pilots met them in _person_, but hell, _everyone_ was afraid of a killing machine 15 times taller than the average man was and 1000 times as deadly. 

"Perhaps she believes she can defeat us using that odd black sword of hers…" commented Trowa, in his usual analytical manner. 

All of the pilots reflexively focused on the said sword and collectively agreed that 'odd' was an understatement. Unearthly was more like it. Siren's sword was jet black and had to be at least four feet long. This in itself was surprising, but the thing that shocked all of the battle-hardened warriors (even Heero) was that a _black flame _surrounded the blade of the word. On top of that, the fire wasn't even a normal fire; it blazed at least three or four inches from the sword and seemed to pulse - almost as if it were alive.

"If I didn't know that it was physically impossible, I'd say that her sword is on fire…" said Quatre in shocked disbelief.

"Obviously, whoever made that sword did not have the Laws of Physics in mind Quatre," replied Heero calmly, in a flash of sarcasm that had recently become not so rare. "Zero does not lie. However improbably it may be, the Siren's sword is undeniably on fire." He sounded casual enough, yet Heero found himself doubting even Wing Zero's impeccable judgement. 

Wufei scoffed, which was unsurprising to his fellow pilots. "I can't believe that that weak onna seriously thinks she can defeat us with just an enchanted sword. I'm surprised that she can even hold it up!" He started to laugh uncontrollably. 

Then was abruptly silenced when the 'weak onna' turned and glared at the Altron as if she had heard what Wufei had said. Wufei jumped at least an inch above his seat and cursed. And with good reason: the radio link he had spoken into could only be heard _by the other Gundam pilots. _

"That's im-im-impossible!" Wufei finally managed to stutter. (Which was amusing for the others, even considering the seriousness of the situation) 

"_Just like it's impossible that my sword is 'on fire' right?" _mocked a female voice, who must have spoken directly into the pilots minds since they all noticed that Siren's lips did not budge an inch and she was the only female for miles. That, and her voice sounded like what a Siren's voice should: smooth, honeyed, sweet, and seductive. It also possessed an odd lilting, sing-song quality to it. 

Duo's mouth dropped. "Now _that's_ impossible!" he exclaimed. He took a quick check of his video screens, which had a view of each Gundam pilot's cockpit. Duo decided by the looks on his comrades' faces that they all agreed with him. 

"_Earthlings_," retorted a disgusted Siren,_ "I sometimes wonder how you miserable creatures survive with such pitiful technology. Tsk, tsk – you haven't even discovered telepathy yet." _

The pilots could only stare in return. But something about her statement snapped Heero out of his shocked reverie. 

"What do you mean by 'Earthlings'? Aren't you one yourself?" he demanded. 

"_You'll find out when you defeat me, pretty boy."_

With that derogatory statement, Heero whipped out his beam saber as if he were about to attack, but was stopped abruptly by Wufei (who was obviously holding a grudge). 

"Wait Heero. Nataku and I will show this weak onna her place." He then moved the Altron slightly ahead of the other Gundams. 

The voice laughed. "_How surprising of you Wufei Chang. You believe that you can defeat me simply because I am a woman."_

Wufei bristled. "How did you know my name, witch?"

The pilots heard another laugh that sounded like the soft chiming of bells. Siren ignored the question. "_Even with Sally, you have never learned. Well now I will teach you a lesson that you'll never forget."_

Before Duo could make an amusing quip on how lame and cliché-ish her last statement was, Siren had settled into her battle stance. She had hooked the stray strands of her waist-length, midnight blue hair behind her ears and had spread her feet wide apart. Siren had then raised her glowing black sword up to her face, about an inch from her nose, and closed her eyes. 

"_Akhsan trioke mais priciose recontre sahcs," _the pilots heard her mutter. 

"Were some of those words _French_?" Trowa asked to no one in particular. 

Before anyone could answer, (and ask how Trowa would know in the first place) they were all shocked speechless. _Again_. For the black flame had suddenly intensified after she had spoken those words and the sword had then started _floating_ between her hands. It was no illusion: Siren held her slender hands around the sword in a praying position, but there was at least three inches of air between them and the hilt of the sword. The air between the sword and her hands shimmered and contorted, like the air above an asphalt street on a hot day. 

"Magic," Heero muttered wearily. He wondered forlornly what had happened to the good old days when his enemies had fought with ordinary weapons. 

"God knows that we've had enough of _that_ in our lifetime," complained Duo. 

Trowa and Quatre sighed and had a 'Here we go again' look on their faces while Wufei merely sat with his arms crossed and wore a smirk on his face. They all sat and waited. 

After a few more unintelligible phrases that faintly resembled French, Siren's eyes abruptly snapped open, so that the pilots could see that her violet eyes had been replaced by deep, black pools. They were infinitely dark; a black hole that absorbed all light. An eerie fire seemed to glow in the depths of those hellish eyes, and it caused the unfortunate victims of her gaze to shudder in unreasonable fear. 

Siren grasped the floating ebony sword with her right hand, halting its unnatural levitation. She turned to face the Altron. 

She snarled viciously. "_Now you die!_"

AUTHOR'S NOTE: This is my first fanfic so I'd love some feedback. Please e-mail me at [Cutlass317@aol.com][1] for suggestions, compliments, flames, etc. Thanks!

   [1]: mailto:Cutlass317@aol.com



	2. Part 2

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Before I proceed with Part 2, I think I need to add something that I forgot to mention in Part I

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Before I proceed with Part 2, I think I need to add something that I forgot to mention in Part I. Endless Waltz has occurred in my story, but the Gundams have not been destroyed, nor have they had their Endless Waltz upgrades. The lack of upgrades is really just a personal opinion (I like the normal upgraded Gundams more, even though Wing Zero in the Endless Waltz does look really cool) but the fact that the Gundams still exist will be explained in my fanfic. (Though probably not in this particular part) Oh and before I forget, Heero and Relena are a couple in this fanfic, so if you don't like it, I would stop reading. This is NOT a hook-up fic though, and does not focus on the relationship between 1XR. With that said, enjoy Part 2! 

"_Now you die!_" 

Heero gaped in shock. Not at the corny threat, but at the sound of the voice that had said it. Instead of being sweet, smooth, and overwhelmingly female, it had changed radically into a harsh, growling, deep, distinctively _male_ voice. _Who IS this woman? _

One of Wing Zero's monitors flashed and interrupted Heero's train of thought. It showed the Altron, smoking, battered, dismembered and decapitated. Its beam lance was lying cut in two on the ground, rendered useless. He heard Wufei's outraged roar over the radio link, accompanied by Trowa's, Quatre's, and Duo's shocked gasps and ejaculations. The Altron had been totally disabled in a few seconds by one person _without_ a mobile suit. 

Siren seemed to be standing in the exact same spot, black eyes flashing and dark sword burning. She stood motionless but alert, and was apparently waiting for the other pilots to make the first move. 

When all five of the Gundams were sent to destroy Siren, Heero had felt that it was an unnecessary move bordering on overkill. He had sincerely believed that both Lady Une and Sally Po had made a grave miscalculation. Now, looking at the smoking ruins of the Altron and the stoic figure of the woman who had destroyed it, he decided to never doubt his two superiors ever again. 

Heero also decided that he could spare no more time being shocked senseless and let the Zero System take over. Emotions such as shock, fear, and anger became alien as his world centered on his enemy; everything else became a distant second. Even so, distant seconds still had to be dealt with, such as the condition of Wufei. 

"Wufei, what happened? Are you hurt?" Heero inquired in his old monotone voice. It felt comfortably familiar, even though he hadn't used it for at least a year. In fact, he hadn't used it since he had confessed his love for Relena, and she had returned it. 

Heero heard another enraged roar from Wufei. _Well at least I know he's all right, _he thought wryly. 

"ARRRRGH!! I CAN'T BELIEVE THAT SHE JUST TOTALLY DESTROYED NATAKU!!" Wufei bellowed, furious. "JUST YOU WAIT UNTIL I GET MY GUNDAM REPAIRED, ONNA!!!"

"Enough, Wufei," Heero replied coldly, "Tell us how she defeated you."

The same gruff male voice answered him inside his mind. "_You're just the ideal Perfect Soldier, aren't you Heero Yuy?_" The voice laughed coldly. "_I'm glad that you haven't softened up over the years. I'll enjoy destroying you._"

"Who _are_ you? How did you know his name?" Heero heard a puzzled Quatre ask. 

"And what's wrong with your voice?" added Trowa darkly. 

The strange voice laughed again. "_Fools. Nothing is wrong with my voice. I am Diablo, the 'burning sword' that you see my Master holding. I have merged with the body and soul of Siren. Together, we know all. Together, we are the TRUE God of Death._"

Heero heard Duo's indignant sputter. "Hey buster, that was a nice speech and all, but I think you're a little confused," the braided pilot said. "_I'm_ the God of Death, and no dumb _sword_ steals my nickname."

Siren turned to fix her surreal gaze on the Deathscythe Hell. Somehow, Heero noted, she seemed more frightening than even the scariest looking of all the Gundams. 

Zero whispered something into his mind. "Tell us about your sword," he demanded suddenly, "Where did you get it? How do you use it?" Heero had long decided that the sword was the most dangerous aspect of Siren, and seeing the sword capable of slicing through Gundanium alloy as if it were slicing through butter merely confirmed it. So did the Zero System. 

"_Have you forgotten so quickly?_" Diablo answered him dryly. "_I'll tell you when you defeat me. But for now, I'm going to teach a lesson to your impertinent buddy over there._"

Heero was prepared this time when Siren made her (his?) move. The Zero System could follow her extremely fast movements, but even with enhanced vision, he could only see her move in an indistinct black blur. Heero then saw what seemed like the incredibly slow movement of Deathscythe Hell bringing its green, double-bladed scythe down to chop Siren in half. Siren, being much faster, easily dodged the deadly scythe, and systematically used Diablo to slice off both of Deathscythe's arms and its head, effectively rendering the mighty Gundam useless. The scythe flew spinning into the air and landed a few feet away from her. Siren crushed it into two pieces with a small booted foot, smiling wickedly as if relishing the resounding crunch. The two green blades of the scythe blinked, and then frizzled out. 

The Zero System told Heero that all of this had happened in no more than 15 seconds. He was suddenly grateful that he was immune to surprise, or else he would have probably been immobilized from the sheer shock of watching the second best Gundam in fighting skills get its ass kicked. 

Duo unfortunately, was not immune. "Deathscythe?" he inquired in a small voice. His Gundam did not answer. "You're going to be all right, old buddy. You're going to be just fine," he said, as if reassuring himself as much as his Gundam. 

Heero recognized his comrade's desperate statements. Duo had said much the same thing before Trowa had destroyed the original Deathscythe. He had to snap Duo out of his shock. 

"Duo, snap out of it," he commanded. "Deathscythe is destroyed, but far from dead. It'll be repaired easily enough."

Heero then carefully observed a monitor that showed the interior of Duo's cockpit. He watched as Duo's face spasmed, and then as his blue eyes gradually unglazed and started to glitter, hard with anger. 

Duo's voice was eerily calm. "Yeah…sure thing Heero." He then continued with sheer hatred coloring his words, "But it's gonna cost that bitch."

Normally, Heero would have sighed with relief and laughed, but the Zero System had a hold on him, so he responded with an emotionless "Roger that," instead. 

Surprisingly, Siren/Diablo did not respond with anymore threats or sarcasm. She just stood casually in the middle of the meadow, and seemed to be weary of fighting such easy battles. _Just you wait until you fight ME, Siren, _Heero thought. 

He then saw a slight movement from a monitor that held a view of Trowa out of the corner of his eye. Trowa gave him a steady, methodical look, and then pointed towards the controls for his homing missiles. Heero nodded and approved of his plan. Trowa always was the practical one. 

Heero raised his buster rifle and locked it onto Siren. Trowa locked on his 36 missiles to the same target. 

Without another second's delay, they both fired. 

Strife glared darkly at the middle-aged, stuffy secretary. He was in no mood to deal with slow flunkies that liked to toy with people in a hurry. He had asked to be briefed, not to wait for ten minutes while a lazy woman pulled up computer files! 

"Are you finished yet?" Strife demanded icily as he leaned against the heavy oak table. 

"Not yet, hon," the secretary drawled. "It might take a few more minutes. Why don't you just sit down over there instead of pacing around like some caged cat?" She idly blew the pink bubble gum she had been chewing and it popped inches from Strife's callused hand. 

__

That's it. Strife reached for the crimson hilt of Ragnarok hanging quiescent on his back and was about to decapitate the annoying secretary when a sultry, feminine voice speaking into his mind stopped him. 

"**_Temper, temper Strife_**," his sword chastised. "**_I don't see what's gotten you all riled up. I'm usually the one with all of the emotions, not you_**."

"But Rag," he thought back to her, "_This woman isn't giving me the information I need for my mission. She's being stubborn and slow, just to annoy me."_

"**_You sound like a six year old, Strife. Sure, you could destroy her, but what would the Baron think of that? Are you ready to risk your paycheck just so you don't have to wait a few minutes?"_**

Strife thought about what Ragnarok had said and reluctantly agreed with her. His hand moved slowly away from the hilt of his sword. _Rag is right; I _am_ being overly emotional. What's wrong with me? _

"**_Nothing is wrong with you Strife,_**" he heard Ragnarok say soothingly. "**_You're just upset at the idea of destroying Odessa, that's all. There's nothing wrong with that._**"

Strife smiled. Rag always did have a way of reassuring him. He no longer felt angry or impatient, and he took the secretary's advice to sit down. Ragnarok relaxed as well; he could feel her lounge and stretch contentedly like a cat. Presently, he felt a certain type of dullness in his mind, signaling that Ragnarok had fallen asleep. _Blade Souls…always sleeping on the job, _Strife thought, amused. 

Meanwhile, the secretary had no idea of how close to death she had been two minutes ago or of the silent communication between a skilled Blade Mage Assassin and his Aura Blade. She merely smiled in satisfaction as she saw the tall man sit down. No doubt she felt that she had won a battle. She decided to reward him for his obedience and tapped in a few essential keys.

"I've found the information that you need, Mr. Mercury," the secretary cooed a few short minutes later. 

Strife resisted the powerful urge to say, "Finally!" and moved towards the secretary's desk instead. He raised a dark eyebrow. "Well…?"

The secretary scanned the computer screen. "It says here that Siren is currently head of a large underworld operation called Siren Song on the planet Earth, circa A.C 198."

"Earth? What's Odessa doing on a sleazy planet like that?" Strife asked skeptically. 

The secretary shot him a disapproving look, despite his intimidating fiery sword. "I thought Elite Assassins knew better than to say ignorant stuff like that."

Strife was indignant, and only Ragnarok's previous warning saved the rude secretary's life. "What do you mean?" he demanded. 

"Sure the Earth in this universe is a dump, but did you notice the date?" She continued without waiting for an answer. "A.C 198. _After Colony_ 198 - not only will you have to travel back in time; you'll have to switch universes. I doubt that the Earth there will be even half as messed up as the one here."

Strife had to give her credit; even _he_ had forgotten what 'A.C' actually stood for. Oddly enough, there were no colonies in his technologically advanced universe, so mostly everybody didn't have any idea what 'A.C' meant. _What are you up to in a different universe, Odessa? _he wondered. But whatever the reason was, it wasn't doing him any good to linger in the Baron's offices. So he grudgingly thanked the secretary and then immediately exited. 

As Strife left the enormous Complex, he pondered over the information he had received. _A.C 198…planet Earth…it all sounds so familiar to me_. But despite his best efforts, he couldn't seem to make a connection. Strife sighed - he hated asking Ragnarok for help. It always made her so cocky. Though yet again, he had no choice. The information that the secretary had given him wasn't nearly enough. After all, Rule Number 5 of the Assassin's Code said to never switch universes or travel in time without ample background information. Besides, he hardly had time to sit down in the library and leisurely flip through the encyclopedias. 

So Strife steeled himself to question his second soul. 

"_Rag!! You lazy bum, wake up!!!_" he roared to his sleeping Blade. Strife could feel her wake up and could also feel her immediate irritation. 

"**_Alright already! God! What's your problem? You know that the scabbard makes me want to sleep all the time!_**" she shouted back in return. 

His head ringing, Strife knew that she was right. His rune-inscribed, magic scabbard dulled Ragnarok's potent powers and forced her to sleep most of the time. Only a strong effort by Rag or a direct command from Strife would wake her up. The scabbard even blocked her fiery red aura, reducing it to a faint glow pulsing gently from the leather scabbard. This blunting of magic was solely for his protection; a sort of backup if Ragnarok ever grew too strong for him to control. Strife shuddered at the thought of the latter; for an uncontrollable Aura Blade as powerful as Ragnarok (and with such an extremely quick temper) would be invincible. 

"**_Damn straight I would. And the first free act I would do is to destroy you for your impertinence,_**" threatened Rag.

"_And how many times have I heard THAT, my dear Blade,_" Strife retorted. "_Besides, I would never let you Fuse so many times that you'd be too powerful for me. I'm not stupid." _

Ragnarok laughed at him, which resulted in the oddest shaking sensation in Strife's mind. "**_Like I'll ever believe THAT, my dear Master. You know that I'm the only pair of brains you have."_**

Strife had to laugh along with her. He wondered idly where Rag had acquired her sense of humor. He didn't remember anyone even remotely funny that he had Fused her with. But then again, Strife hadn't been looking to Fuse Ragnarok with people that possessed a sense of humor; he had been looking for people with a fiery hot temperament (i.e. a red aura). 

They both gradually sobered up. Strife spoke first. "_I hate saying this, but I need your help Rag._"

Which immediately resulted in more guffaws from Rag and various statements on how she told him that he'd need her help and that she was the only smart one and what would he do without her, etc. 

Strife suddenly interrupted her obnoxious tirade. "_Shut up Rag. Just answer my question. What do you know about planet Earth in the year After Colony 198?" _

He felt her search through his memories to find out what she had missed while she was sleeping, rather than ask why he wanted to know. It was the weirdest feeling; Strife still hadn't gotten used to in the six years he had possessed Ragnarok. It felt like hands rummaging through his brain like one would rummage through a file cabinet. Strife couldn't help but stiffen a bit. He felt as Rag quickened her efforts if wanting to cause him the least amount of discomfort possible. Strife smiled. She really was a kind, affectionate Blade Soul, despite her sullen front. 

The odd feeling abruptly stopped. "**_Now what's Odessa doing on Earth in a different universe anyway?"_** he heard her ask. 

"_My thought's exactly, Rag. But do you have any other information that we might need?"_

"**Sure do. Turns out that that particular planet Earth is the one inhabited by the famous Gundam pilots and the Preventors. It would be wise to contact them first."**

Strife did a double take. The Gundam pilots and their story were legendary even on Lothos, which was a relatively distant, out-there kind of planet. Not to mention it was located in a totally different universe. 

"_No way!_" Strife exclaimed. "_I'll actually be meeting the Gundam pilots?_"

Rag chuckled. "**_You sound like a little boy, even though you're three years older than every single one of them._**" She hesitated, as if she didn't want to disappoint him by saying anymore.

"_Well…out with it Rag._" Strife demanded impatiently. 

She sighed. "**_Yeah, you'll be meeting them all right, Strife. They're bound to be going after Odessa too - remember, she's the leader of a rebellion, and they have to 'maintain the peace'." _**

Strife felt his childish joy abruptly diminish. Odessa was powerful, he knew, and so was her Aura Blade, Diablo. But against all five of the virtually indestructible Gundams? Well even _he _would have some trouble. 

"_I can't let them destroy her, Rag,_" he said fiercely. Strife found himself suddenly wondering why he felt so strongly about the issue. _It'd be easier for me if the Gundams DID destroy her_…_ so why do I care so much?_

"**_Because you love her,_**" Ragnarok answered his unasked question, simply and quietly. 

He did not deny it.

YET ANOTHER AUTHOR'S NOTE: Yeah, so this part was pretty long. But you should begin to expect parts to be about this long, because if I write short parts, they'll end up being like 56 of them. So I'm doing Zapenstap a favor by writing long parts. And now I'm going to stop rationalizing. J Anyway, please e-mail me at [Cutlass317@aol.com][1] for any suggestions, flames, compliments, etc. Thanks!!

   [1]: Cutlass317@aol.com



	3. Part 3

The boom of the buster rifle being discharged and the whining sound of missiles flying through the air were the only sounds heard for what seemed like an eternity for the Gundam pilots

Note: For those of you who might be confused, I refer to Siren/Diablo as Siren when I'm describing her physical actions. I refer to her as Diablo when she speaks, since it is Diablo who speaks, and not really Siren herself. Diablo is using Siren's body as a puppet. I hope that clarifies the situation. Enjoy Part 3!

****

The War of the Assassins

Part 3

The _boom_ of the buster rifle being discharged and the whining noise of missiles flying through the air were the only sounds heard by the Gundam pilots for what seemed like an eternity.

Heero allowed himself a small, tight smile of satisfaction as he watched Siren's relaxed figure get swallowed by thick black smoke and fire. The earsplitting sound of exploding missiles filled the air. All of Trowa's 36 homing missiles had hit their mark. So had the bright yellow beam of Heero's buster rifle. _After all, Wing Zero is accurate to the thousandth degree_, _and I'm only 10 feet away from Siren. There's no way I could have missed. _

He saw Trowa also smile in satisfaction, and heard a raucous cheer from Duo. Wufei snorted and looked smug. Basically, everyone felt that they had won, disabled Gundams and all.

Except for Quatre. "I don't know, Heero…" he said slowly, "but I have a feeling that she's still alive."

Trowa looked alert. He understood Quatre better than any of the others, and therefore knew of how sensitive he was to other people.

"What do you feel, Quatre?" he asked, concerned. 

"I…I'm not really sure, Trowa," Quatre replied uncertainly, "It's just that I can still feel her here with us. It's hard to explain, but I'm almost positive that Siren's still alive."

Duo snorted skeptically. "Look Quatre, _nobody_ can take a point blank shot from Heero's buster rifle _and_ Trowa's missiles and still survive. Magic sword or no, Siren is as dead as a doornail." 

Despite of his reassurance, Quatre still looked doubtful. 

Heero watched as the dark smoke began to clear, and decided to settle the silly argument. "Look, we'll find out soon enough if Siren is still alive. The smoke is clearing." 

The others immediately shut up and looked at their respective monitors. The thick smoke had almost all but dissipated, and in a few more seconds, the pilots would know for sure if they had successfully eliminated Siren. 

Heero took the time to ponder what Quatre had said. _He's rarely wrong about these things, and we've been shown time after time how Siren can do the impossible. I doubt it would be too hard for her to stop my buster rifle and Trowa's missiles. _Zero agreed with him, and so Heero was not very surprised when his monitor showed Siren, alive after all and virtually unscathed.

She was still standing in a loose, indifferent posture, with Diablo grasped firmly in her right hand. The only difference about her was the spherical black aura that surrounded and shielded her. It sizzled and popped as if it contained great power. 

"She blocked it with that shield…" he heard Trowa say unbelievingly. 

"_No way!_" Duo shouted. "What if you just missed?"

"We did not miss," Heero replied firmly, as if daring the others to disagree with him.

Quatre was too polite to say 'I told you so' but everyone could feel that he wanted to. Wufei just stared, mouth open, as if too shocked to believe his own eyes. 

"Oh God," Duo complained, while double-checking his monitors. "Why did I have to drag myself into this? I could've just stayed in the colonies with Hilde, nice and comfy, and avoided this crazy woman altogether."

The others did not reply, though several of them began to regret ever accepting the mission. Not like they had much of a choice in the matter. After the Mariemaia incident, Relena had realized that peace was something that had to be fought for and in some cases, obtained forcefully. Therefore the pilots did not destroy their Gundams as originally planned, and each pilot had hidden them in a secret location that no one else knew of. For the past two years, the Gundams had not been needed. Then the underground organization Siren Song had suddenly shown up a few months ago, and all of the efforts of the Preventors to bring Siren to justice had failed. The Gundams had been brought in as a last resort; therefore the pilots had no choice but to accept their mission. 

Heero noted the mangled state of Deathscythe Hell and Altron and decided with a certain degree of irony that the mission was not going as smoothly as planned.

Suddenly, and quite unexpectedly, Siren dropped her shield and made her move. She bolted up Heavyarms like a black comet and gave it the same treatment as she had given Deathscythe Hell. Its severed head had barely even started falling when Siren headed for Sandrock. Poor Quatre didn't even have time to react as his beloved Gundam was mutilated right before his eyes. Both defeated Gundams fell at the same time with a heavy thud onto the grass of the meadow. The Heavyarms' gattling guns and the short scythes of Sandrock spun through the air. Heero watched with a sort of sick fascination as Siren jumped impossibly high; then held Diablo high over her head and fluidly swung him down over the weapons like a cleaver. They were easily demolished. 

Siren, now falling, gracefully somersaulted through the air several times and landed solidly on her feet. She casually hooked stray strands of dark hair behind her ears while a slight smirk played on her lips. It was all too easy. 

"Why…why didn't you finish us?" Quatre asked shakily. He was shocked almost senseless. 

Heero idly wondered why he hadn't thought of the question himself. Sure, four of the Gundams were destroyed, but the pilots were unharmed, if a little shaky. He waited to hear Diablo's customary reply that they'd find out when he defeated him. 

"_Because I want you to sit utterly helpless as you watch your best friends and comrade-at-arms be destroyed at my hand,_" said Diablo maliciously. 

Heero was surprised at his response. _I wonder if he's finally given up on the whole 'You'll find out when you defeat me' bit. _

He heard Quatre's horrified response. "But why would you want to do something so horrible like that? Something so…evil?" Heero saw him shiver in revulsion. 

Diablo laughed harshly. "_You foolish boy. Don't you realize by now that you're speaking to Evil itself?_" 

Quatre was utterly aghast, and did not reply. Heero watched as Trowa gave him a reassuring look, as if wanting to comfort the kind warrior. 

Siren suddenly turned to face the Wing Zero, but Diablo spoke for her. "_I hope you still remember my generous offer Heero Yuy. If you defeat me, I'll answer all of your questions. Well?_"

__

About time he's mentioned it, Heero thought to himself as he assessed his situation. He decided that the Wing Zero would be completely useless against Siren. It was just too slow. Even the self-destruction device wouldn't be powerful enough to break her shield. The only option he had was to fight her in person using the Zero System helmet. 

Heero turned around and pulled out the white, oversized, pointed helmet that he had stored behind his seat. He heard Quatre gasp in surprise, and for good reason. The helmet had the exact same shape as the helmet Dorothy had used when she had fenced with Quatre on Libra. When Quatre had told the Preventors about it, Lady Une was intrigued. She had then assigned Howard to design a replica. He figured it out rather quickly, and Lady Une had given the helmet to Heero 'for an emergency'. He had never needed to use it - until now. 

__

If this isn't an emergency, I don't know what is; Heero thought as he maneuvered the Wing Zero so that it was bent down on one knee. He then slid on the helmet and observed the effects. It really wasn't much different from sitting in the cockpit of the Wing Zero; it was just closer and a little stronger. Heero then popped open the cockpit; it opened with the hissing sound of pressurized air escaping. Without a second thought, he jumped the 15 feet or so from the cockpit to the ground. He rolled smoothly to his feet when he landed, and started walking purposely towards Siren who stood waiting for him a small distance away. 

"What are you doing Heero?" he heard Trowa ask quietly through a radio link in his helmet. 

"Wing Zero would be useless against her, so I'm going to fight her one on one," he replied stoically. 

"But...without a weapon? She'll carve you apart with that sword!" Duo exclaimed, horrified.

"I have the Zero System with me, and it tells me that she'll provide me with a weapon."

Wufei was shocked. "But how could you trust that...that..._onna_?" he demanded. 

Unsurprisingly, Heero did not respond. 

Duo rolled his eyes. He felt that it was stupid to put so much faith in the Zero System, but he also knew that Heero would not listen to any advice he had to give. He was in Perfect Soldier mode, and totally dedicated to his mission. 

"Heero," Quatre said a bit uncertainly, "is that…_Dorothy's_ helmet?" 

"No Quatre," Heero replied emotionlessly. "It has the equivalent design but I'm not wearing the same helmet she wore on Libra." 

Quatre sighed with relief. He really didn't like Dorothy. 

A few more steps...Heero was almost there...

"Hey Heero!" Duo called at the last minute, sounding almost cheerful. "Good luck man!" Heero could almost hear his grin. There was a slight pause from Duo before he finished seriously with a touch of concern, "Don't go gettin' yourself hurt now..." 

Heero did not reply. It was too late now for such sentimental frivolity. He was face to face with Siren. 

*******************************

Strife was in complete turmoil as he headed automatically towards the Meadow. Rag had dropped a bombshell on him, one that he would have never expected from her. She had said flat out that he _loved_ somebody. This in itself was astonishing, but what had surprised him even more was _his_ reaction. No denials or shocked outrage...in fact he had said absolutely nothing. He had been silent for so long that Rag had fallen asleep on him. Which was an improvement, actually, since Strife needed some time to himself. He loved Rag like a sister, but a sister who could read his mind just left him with no privacy. 

The thought startled him. _Damn it! Why did I even think that? I don't know what love is, or even what a sister is, _Strife thought, scowling darkly. He held his head between his hands and tightly shut his intense green eyes._ Why am I thinking about love so much? I'm not supposed to be thinking about it at all!_ _But what if Rag's right? What if I DO love her? _He began to think of the last time that he had seen her. She had been lovely, captivating, sweet and funny. Strife's years of training and strict mind control slipped for just one second when he dreamily thought, _Would it really be so bad? Maybe I do love her..._

With that thought, excruciating pain struck every cell of his body. Strife screamed in agony. "_What the hell_?!" he managed to shout before pain racked his body again and made him mute. He heard Rag's voice tormenting him, "**_Because you love her...love her...love her..._**" Suddenly, images of a beautiful woman with silky midnight blue hair and enchanting violet eyes filled his head. She was smiling at him, and he was leaning in to kiss her full red lips. Desire was overwhelming. _No. STOP. Stop feeling this. Stop thinking of her. STOP! _Strife dropped to his knees in pain and frustration, still holding his head. Strangers stopped and stared at him, but he did not notice, consumed by pain and by visions of himself kissing her, touching her face and hair and lips. "**_love her...love her...love her..._**" _NO. Shut up! _He started talking out loud despite of the pain, in sheer desperation. "Stop...shut up! Stop it, _stop_, _God damn it_! _I DON'T LOVE HER!!_" he shouted between gritted teeth. 

With that said, the hallucinations abruptly stopped and the sharp pain was blunted to a dull, pounding ache. Strife's head reeled and he felt dizzy and nauseous. _What the hell was that? What is WRONG with me? Am I going insane? _He gingerly stood up, opened his eyes and for the first time, noticed the crowd of people gathered around him; he glared angrily at them in annoyance. Strife started striding purposefully, ignoring their offers of help and tried to focus instead on putting one foot ahead of the other. Anything was better than thinking of love, thinking of...Odessa... 

As he walked, Strife wondered about the stabbing pain and odd hallucinations he had just experienced. Nothing like that had ever to him before. _It's probably just from stress. _But even as he thought this, he knew that it was a lie. Something bothered him though...it was a memory, a memory of something his Sensei had said, something about falling in love...but once he thought he knew what it was, the memory would slip away again like water slipping through his fingers. _Why can't I remember?! _Strife shook his head in frustration; his unruly black hair flew wildly in every direction. _Just stop thinking about it. Maybe it'll go away on its own._ The dull, pounding ache did not go away. Nor did the feeling that he had forgotten something important. To distract himself, he cautiously looked up and saw a large mass of hover vehicles zooming through the air. It was rush hour, or he would've taken a motorcycle himself. It was seriously just faster walking. Not to mention it was more distracting. Strife started to walk a little faster, wanting to leave Mestra City and Lothos as quickly as possible. Perhaps when he arrived on Earth, he wouldn't feel so badly. 

A few minutes later, he finally arrived at the Meadow. It was as it always was: sunny, balmy, and beautiful. The grass was velvety soft, and a bright healthy green. Bright yellow daffodils danced in the breeze and saturated the Meadow with a sweet, heavenly smell. Strife felt immediately better. The painful ache was gone, and so was the strange feeling that he had forgotten something. He felt an overwhelming peacefulness wash over him as he yawned in contentment. Strife always felt tranquil in Meadows. He supposed it was because of all the Pure Magic that gathered in and around them. There was a Meadow in every world that existed in any universe, and it was how Blade Mages and Assassins traveled, using Meadows like the ordinary citizen would use a space shuttle. 

Suddenly struck by a feeling of exhaustion, Strife slumped down to lie on the soft, earthy grass. He folded his long arms under his head and closed his eyes, smiling in comfortable satisfaction as a feeling of bliss enveloped him. He was able to think clearly for the first time, and decided that ever since he had spoken to the Baron, he had felt of flood of emotions; they must have caused the pain, sickness, and hallucinations he had been experiencing. _If that's the case, then there's a way I can cure myself. _Bathed in the soothing aura of the Meadow, Strife was able to regain complete control of himself using strict mind control techniques he had learned in training. He felt the characteristic hardening of his mind and distractions such as emotions abruptly disappeared. 

Strife sighed in relief. He had thought for a frightening instant that he would be doomed to feel forever, and therefore would lose his treasured profession as an Assassin. _It's good to be back_. With that comforting thought, he slid off into a deep sleep.

***************************************

Odessa Arrowney, known more commonly as Siren, was lost within herself. She felt disconnected, light-headed, as if she could only observe her own actions and perform none of them. She had just regained consciousness, and the last thing she could remember was feeling a surge of great power and euphoria when she had merged with Diablo. 

Odessa took note of her surroundings. She was no longer in the Meadow; she knew that for sure. She was floating in a place that was dark, shapeless, cold, and endless. Odessa looked at her hands, and realized with horror that she could see right through them. That could only mean one thing. _Oh no...I'm in The Void...and that means Diablo has taken control. _

She felt like crying. She had planned on just destroying the Gundams to teach the cocky kids a lesson, and to do that, she had no choice but to temporarily merge. She certainly hadn't planned on _killing _the pilots (or on Diablo taking over), and really felt no desire to do so, but Diablo would take immense pleasure from the gruesome act. Odessa shuddered at the thought of what Diablo would do to the poor boys. 

The worse part of it was that most of her absolutely loved being merged with and controlled by Diablo. The power-hungry, ambitious, bloodthirsty part of her soul had essentially become part of Diablo. There was not much of her pure, kind, compassionate self, left. Odessa decided that fate was not without a sense of irony: she had become a Dark Magic wielding Assassin so that she _could_ be power-hungry, ambitious, and bloodthirsty, but now when faced with the inevitable horror of recognizing _herself_ in the absolutely evil form of Diablo, she couldn't take it. She regretted her fateful decision and her subsequent transformation to the depths of her soul. 

And yet there was nothing Odessa could do. There wasn't enough of her true self left to battle Diablo, win, and regain control. She sat despairingly in what she thought was the direction of down, bowed her head over her bent knees, and this time, really did cry. 

The harsh, annoying voice of her former Blade Soul interrupted her. "**_Aww. Poor baby,_**" Diablo cooed inside her mind, which sounded extremely wrong in his dark voice. He then started laughing at her cruelly, and continued without pity, "**_You brought this upon yourself. And now that you have, just sit back and enjoy being me, because there's nothing you can do about it._**"

Odessa knew that what he said was true, but she refused to give him any such satisfaction. She pushed herself angrily onto her feet. "Leave me alone Diablo!" she shouted furiously into The Void. She continued acidly with contempt coloring her words, "You know that I'd _never_ enjoy being part of a bastard like you, so just cut the crap!"****

"**_Well, well, aren't we a feisty little girl?_**" replied Diablo, amused. "**_If I didn't have a certain Gundam pilot to torture, I'd stay here and play with you some more._**" Odessa could feel the ghastly creature smile. "**_But don't worry, I'll be back soon enough. Besides, there's no hurry - we have all ETERNITY together!_**" After letting loose another maniacal laugh, Diablo left The Void. 

Odessa slumped wearily onto the 'ground', and forced herself not to cry. Instead she thought of Strife, and pleaded desperately to him, wishing fervently that he might hear, "Strife...I'm here, come save me. _Please_..."

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Whew, that was a looong part. Sorry to anyone who likes things short and sweet. But I had to get in Strife's whole inner conflict, Odessa's conversation with Diablo AND the Gundam pilots all at the same time. Well, you know the drill, if you have any suggestions, compliments, flames, or just want to talk to me, please e-mail me at [Cutlass317@aol.com][1]. Thanks!

   [1]: Cutlass317@aol.com



	4. Part 4

NOTE: I forgot to put this in Part 1 so I think I'll just add it now

NOTE: I forgot to put this in Part 1 so I think I'll just add it now. If one of you out there dares to steal _any _of my characters or ideas, I'll personally hunt you down and kick your ass. Nuff said. ^_^ Enjoy Part 4! 

****

The War of the Assassins

Part 4

For the first time, Heero was able to see Siren clearly, face to face. He had grown a lot in the past three years, and was taller than her by a few inches, but he was still able to plainly assess all of her features. Being so close, he had to admit it: Siren was beautiful. She was slender, strong, proud, voluptuous, and graceful with strong bones and clear features. She was wearing a simple, tight-fitting, black jumpsuit and her long midnight blue hair elegantly accented the color. Stray strands of her hair danced in the balmy breeze, and curved coyly around her body. 

She would've been exquisitely flawless if not for her eyes, those inky black eyes that seem to burn with hatred as she gazed at Heero. He involuntarily shuddered. It was an eerie sight, especially now as he discovered that Siren's eyes no longer had whites - they were completely swallowed by black, as if her eyes had been torn out, leaving nothing but gaping holes in her pale face like eye sockets in a skull.

"Heero Yuy..." Siren said huskily. Yes, _Siren, _not Diablo, those words were spoken out loud in that same seductive, sweet, musical feminine voice. 

Heero was caught off guard, and the Zero System offered him no answers. It seemed almost as puzzled as he was. "What happened to Diablo?" he asked darkly. 

Siren laughed prettily. "Oh I wouldn't worry about _him_..." She smiled up at him and said very softly, "Diablo's gone. It's just you and me, Heero. All to ourselves..."

That was just too suspicious sounding for comfort, but before Heero could protest, Siren had drew herself closer; he instinctively put up a hand with his palm facing outwards as if to ward her off. She smiled and gently interlocked the fingers of her left hand with his outstretched one. Heero gasped in surprise at her touch; it felt like a bolt of electricity shooting up his arm. And yet at the same time it was pleasantly intoxicating...he involuntarily closed his eyes in bliss. She began to lightly stroke his arm with her fingertips. _God, that feels good._ He gradually opened his eyes and once again drunk in her figure. She was exquisitely, almost painfully, beautiful. Desire welled up inside of him as he began to reach for her with his free hand. The Zero System flashed in alarm and he immediately stopped, with his hand only partially outstretched, hanging slackly in midair. _Something's wrong._

Heero suddenly tried to jerk himself away from her, but she locked her eyes on his and he froze under her intense gaze. Her eyes...they were violet again, a deep and endless pool of brilliant violet light. So captivating were those eyes, so enthralling was her cool touch, that he did not notice Siren slowly bringing up the blazing sword she still clutched in her other hand, neither did he notice her satisfied smile. Heero had completely lost himself in those eyes, like he was so often lost in Relena's ocean-blue gaze. _Relena. _The thought of her abruptly snatched him out of his hazy fog. 

He successfully tore himself away from Siren's deadly gaze, and clumsily staggered away from her. Her triumphant smirk gradually faded. Heero shivered feverishly, hot and cold all at once, realizing what she had done to him, of how very close he had been to death.

But she did not give up so easily. "Even the Perfect Soldier can be seduced by a Siren," she murmured quietly, almost to herself. Heero knew that what she said was true - she _had_ seduced him; he had felt the desire, the overwhelming _need_ to have her. He was suddenly flooded by guilt. _What will Relena say?_

"Aww...don't feel bad," Siren cooed reassuringly, as if she had heard his thoughts. "No man can resist me...including _you,_ Heero Yuy. In fact I don't think you really want to..." She smiled at him again, a lazy, sensuous smile, while desire burned plainly in her eyes. 

Siren suddenly drew close to him again, dangerously close, and placed her left hand on Heero's muscular chest, letting Diablo in her right hand hang slackly at her side. He immediately felt that feeling again, that feeling of drowning in her presence, in her touch, that feeling of overwhelming desire. But he recognized it now, and so did the Zero System, and therefore was able to save himself. He grasped her wrist firmly and tore it away from his body, and then grabbed her shoulders and roughly pushed her away. Siren staggered back a few yards with a look of shock on her elegant face.

Heero glared at her, coldly angry. "Drop the act, Diablo. It's not working," he said fiercely.

Siren quickly regained her composure and grinned wickedly, and this time the harsh voice of Diablo answered him. "**Well, well, well...it looks like you're more stubborn than I thought Heero Yuy. Or else your woman waiting for you back home can possibly give you more than I can.**" Siren threw back her head and laughed with the voice of Diablo at the sheer absurdity of the latter. The laughter looked and sounded decidedly odd. _Odd?_ Heero thought to himself while she continued laughing. _That's not even the beginning of it. A woman with a man's voice and soul just tried to seduce you_. _Now THAT'S odd._ Eventually, she calmed down and looked at Heero with an expression of sardonic amusement. Her eyes had become black and fiery again. 

Heero was extremely tired of her calling him by his full name, and was furious at her insult to Relena, but he did not say so. It was not necessary to complete his mission. "You're not speaking into my mind anymore. I didn't know that you were capable of speaking out loud."

She grinned, and yet again, Diablo spoke for her, "**You don't know a lot of things I'm capable of.**" Siren then looked him up and down, just as he had done to her, and licked her lips. This time, her true, feminine voice spoke, "You really are a gorgeous man, Heero, even _with_ the silly helmet. It was worth the magic to deceive you, if only temporarily."

He felt a little less guilty at her admission; at least part of his unfaithfulness could be blamed on her magic, but it was not the time to be thinking of such things. Zero told him that the two voices were one and the same; there were not two separate entities contained in one body, it was all Diablo. The system only confirmed his suspicions. "Stop using Siren's voice to try to trick me, Diablo," Heero said coldly. "I didn't come here to be seduced, I came here to fight." 

Siren smiled. "**Very well.**" She looked at him consideringly for a moment, and noticed his unarmed state. "**But I am not entirely without honor. It just wouldn't be fair - nor would it be a challenge - if I just cut you down with you standing here weaponless.**"

Heero did not reply, and certainly did not trust the quality of any weapon given to him by her, but he really had no choice.

Siren took his silence as an affirmative and gracefully bent down and plucked a single blade of bright green grass. She held Diablo very close to the grass, almost so that the ebony flame that burned around the blade was touching it. She then muttered a few twisty, foreign words and gently touched the tip of her flaming sword to the piece of grass. It did not burn, as Heero expected, but merely grew longer and wider. A sharp point appeared on one end and a wooden, cross-shaped hilt on the other. In a matter of seconds, the blade of grass had become a bright green sword. 

Heero was only mildly surprised. He had gotten rather used to Siren's magic. _If I survive this, I don't think I'll ever be shocked by anything again. _

She tossed the sword casually to him and he caught it easily. It was moderately heavy, but could be held in one hand, maneuverable, and long. Though it was large, it was definitely not Siren's huge broadsword. It looked like a claymore, though Heero was not an expert in swords. He had never used a claymore before, but he knew how to fence. Heero had been the best fencer at Relena's school; that had to count for something. In fact, he had impaled a sword through the mask of one of her annoying, superficial guy friends. Heero smiled faintly at the memory. It had been so long ago…

Diablo's dissonant voice interrupted his thoughts. "**Is it suitable?**" he asked with the manner of one who doesn't really care.

Heero scowled. "It is acceptable," he lied through his teeth. The sword could be easily broken in one powerful slice by Diablo. Not to mention the magic Siren would most likely be casting on it or him while they were fighting. But still...with his skill and the Zero System on his side, he might just have a chance. That reminded him of something Quatre had once said. Ah yes, losing battles…he hoped that he was still good at fighting them. 

Siren was already in her battle stance: alert, with feet apart and holding the blazing Diablo with both of her hands to provide more devastating strikes. "**Are you prepared to die?**" Diablo asked him forebodingly.

Heero smirked slightly and raised his absurdly colored sword with both of his hands. He replied coolly, "I always have been," and immediately rushed at Siren with claymore raised high.

********************************

The sun cast a few brilliant rays of yellow light on his handsome face, and subsequently woke him up. He slowly opened his eyes and looked fondly at the young woman sleeping quietly next to him. She was beautiful, a downright goddess. The sun shone its golden light upon her, making her glow with a soft gold aura in place of her normal sky blue one. Only the supernatural possessed gold auras. It only strengthened his belief that the woman he was fortunate enough to sleep with was a goddess come to walk with him on Lothos. 

Eighteen-year-old Strife quietly watched her sleep for a few more moments, feeling at peace with himself. He gingerly untangled himself from her long strands of midnight blue hair and silently got out of bed. He did not wish to wake her, it was not time for their classes yet. Strife felt much too awake to go to sleep again, though, and decided to warm up a bit first. 

He quietly got dressed and padded to the bathroom to wash up. When he opened the door, he received the shock of his life - she was already awake and ready to shower.

"My God, Odessa," he said a bit breathlessly, "I could've sworn you were asleep. You scared me half to death!"

She smiled back at him, violet eyes twinkling. "Tsk tsk, Strife Mercury," she chastised in mock seriousness, while adjusting her beige bathrobe. "You should have more faith in my abilities. You _know_ that I can sense the change in your aura even while I'm sleeping...not to mention you woke me up when you suddenly stopped snoring!"

Strife pretended to be offended. "Snore?! What the hell are you talking about? I _don't _snore."

Odessa snorted, and then her face softened. "I mean no offense, dear, but you really do snore..." and then a mischievous glint appeared in her eyes as she continued playfully, "Considering how loud you are, its a wonder that I can actually sleep at all!"

He glared at her and then suddenly moved close and started tickling her. In between mad fits of laughter, she shrieked at him to stop. He did eventually, but only because he was too busy kissing her to spare any energy tickling her. She was warm, soft, and sweet. 

Odessa pulled away first, and looked up at him with love reflecting in her bewitching eyes. "I think..." she said quietly before pausing to catch her breath. "I think we should stop this before we're late for Training..."

Strife smiled at her subtle implication. She was right though, at this rate, they _would_ be late for Training - because they'd probably be back in bed doing something much more fun. He shook her head a bit ruefully; she always seemed to be right more often than he was, even though he was a year older. "Alright then." He let her go take a shower as he washed up. She was still showering when he finished. 

"Hey, Odessa!" he shouted over the sound of pouring water, "I'm going to go warm up a bit, I'll meet you in the Meadow alright?" 

"Okay, I'll see you there within 15 minutes!" she shouted back.

Strife walked out of the bathroom humming nonsensically and fluidly harnessed his sword. The black leather harness crossed in a diagonal line across his chest from his shoulder to his right hip with Ragnarok's crimson hilt poking up from behind his left shoulder. He felt his Blade Soul gradually wake up, probably from the intense happiness he was feeling.

Rag yawned_. "**Well you're certainly in a good mood...oh let me guess. You spent the night with Odessa**_." she stated somewhat sarcastically. It was not a question.

He refused to be goaded by his spunky Blade Soul. "_Sure did Rag,_" he beamed, "_And it was a helluva night. But c'mon, we have work to do._"

Rag snorted, skeptical. "**_Speak for yourself, loverboy_.**"

Strife laughed. He just felt good to be alive, and felt even better as he walked into the soothing Meadow. He smoothly unsheathed Rag and felt her potent red aura flow into him. It felt invigorating. 

With red fire slicing through the magic-filled air, he ran through a few drills and was about to cast a recently learned fireball spell when he felt another aura in the Meadow. But it was not Odessa's. Strife sighed wearily as he recognized the calculating, manipulative, dark green aura.

"**_Oh for God's sake, not HER again,_**" Rag lamented. 

He smiled slightly at her comment, and turned to face his visitor.

Rag was surprised. "**_Uh...Strife, what are you doing?_"**

"_I'm not going to run away from her any longer,_" he replied firmly. 

"**_But - she might cast a Psyche Spell on you_**...**at least cast a Resist.**" she protested.

Strife ignored Rag. He refused to be intimidated by his visitor any longer. He felt confident, strong, healthy, and was in a great mood - he wasn't about to let her ruin his excellent day.

He eyed the young woman steadily. "What do you want, Aerowyn?" 

Aerowyn Silverlye raised an eloquent eyebrow. "Is this how you treat an old friend, Strife?" she inquired, sounding hurt. 

He glared balefully at the golden haired woman with the forest green eyes. 'Old friend' indeed. She had manipulated him into dating her when they had been fellow trainees at the beginning dojo for Assassins. He had just barely been able to get himself out of her trap. Unfortunately, Aerowyn had been in his classes ever since. He just couldn't seem to get rid of her. Now that he was with Odessa, she wanted him more than ever, and had become a total hell to be around. 

"Stop following me around," Strife replied succinctly.

She did not become angry, which he had expected. Instead, she just smiled and minutely adjusted her glowing green Blade, Daedalus. He immediately felt her begin to gather magic and saw Daedalus glow a little brighter.

Rag was anxious. "**_Strife, don't be an idiot. Cast a Resist Spell!_**"

"_No. Let it come,_" he replied to her calmly. He knew he could resist her Psyche Magic on his own - he didn't need any magic._ No, that's the last thing I should do. If I cast magic, then she wins. _"_Have a little faith, Rag._"

Now Aerowyn herself was glowing brighter. Daedalus practically pulsed with waves of bright green light running up and down its blade. 

Rag was not giving up. "**_Damn your pride Strife! Listen to me!_**" she shouted fiercely. "**_You won't be able to resist the spell on your own. She's strong - too strong! Can't you feel it in her aura?_**"

Strife did not reply. He saw her wield her Blade delicately, cutting and weaving various Threads; the residual green glow left intricate patterns in the air. He tried to read the pattern so that he could identify her spell. 

"_What is that?_" he asked Rag, bemused. He had never seen that particular pattern before. But supremely confident, he still did not move to defend himself.

"**_Oh SHIT! She's casting Charm and Odessa's going to be here any minute! CAST RESIST!!!_**" Rag yelled frantically. 

The sudden realization of his peril finally caused Strife to hurriedly begin to cast Resist. But it was already too late. Aerowyn finished her pattern and swung Daedalus in a diagonal slash through the air. The bright green Charm Spell was headed right to him.

The next thing Strife knew, Aerowyn was in his arms and he was kissing her passionately. _God, what am I doing? I don't want her, I want Odessa. Damn it, I LOVE Odessa, so stop doing this!!_ But the Charm Spell was too strong. Even as he tried to pull himself away, he felt inexplicably drawn to Aerowyn, as if she were some kind of magnet. He had dropped his Blade on the ground, but he could still speak to her. "_Rag...HELP ME!_"

His Blade Soul sounded strangely faint and weak. "**_Strife, I'm trying...but I can't!_" **she said desperately_. "**She's too strong for us and she's blunting my power. Oh God, here comes Odessa!**_"

Strife tried harder than ever to resist the spell, but it was futile. He was still kissing Aerowyn when he felt Odessa's aura. _There's something wrong with her..._

"**_Crap, she fell into one of Aerowyn's traps! She's got a Muddle Spell cast on her!_**"

Things were going quickly from bad to worse. Aerowyn suddenly pulled away from him, and it was all he could do to keep his hands off of her. There was a look of immense satisfaction in her forest green eyes. Strife quickly turned to look at Odessa. Her normally placid sky blue aura had turned a deep crimson red. She was angry, angrier than he had ever seen her; too angry to even notice the Muddle Spell that Aerowyn had cast on her. But that was one of the reasons why Muddle worked, it confused and contorted everything so much that even Assassins had trouble detecting it. And Odessa was only a Rookie.

"Odessa..." Strife began desperately. He wished to say so much more, but a sharp look from Aerowyn made him forget the other woman entirely. He only knew that he wanted Aerowyn, badly. He stepped close behind her, and ran his fingers through her golden hair, all the while hating himself.

The incongruous act snapped an already strained and confused Odessa. "You _bastard!_" she cried furiously. "How dare you? You said that the relationship between you and Aerowyn was _over_. How _dare_ you lie to me like that?!"

__

"**Strife, you better say something real quick or else you're going to lose Odessa forever!**" Rag said fiercely. 

He fought the strong urge to kiss Aerowyn and tried frantically to explain. His mouth felt clumsy and heavy. "No. I...Charm," he finished lamely. Aerowyn shifted slightly so that she was facing him. The words he wanted to say so badly stuck in his throat. She was so close..._too_ close...the spell won and Strife leaned in to kiss her. 

He heard Odessa's outraged cry while his mouth was entrapped with hers. It tore apart his heart knowing that he was hurting Odessa so, but Strife just couldn't stop himself. Aerowyn pulled away gently. She eyed Odessa with contempt, "Don't you see? Strife is mine now. I obviously have some charm that _you_ don't." Odessa's eyes flashed dangerously, but Aerowyn continued mercilessly, "Fool. He _never _loved you. He was just using you!"

Unable to speak, Strife fervently tried to express with his eyes that was she said was a lie, but Odessa did not see. Her face showed complete disbelief, but the Muddle Spell was slowly but surely doing its work. He could see that she wanted to deny what Aerowyn said, but she couldn't. He watched in horror as her violet eyes began to shine with unshed tears. _She's starting to believe her..._

Aerowyn continued to taunt her, trying to push her over the edge. "It seems that your loverboy has finally discarded his little toy," she said mockingly, her voice dripping with scorn. "Now leave us!"

"**_You have to do something Strife!_**" Rag shouted frantically.

But it was too late. With the combination of Muddle and her own secret doubts, Odessa believed everything that Aerowyn said. She glared at him with a look of pure hatred. Her voice trembled with anger, "I wish that I never met you, you heartless, two-faced, lying, player! God, just looking at you makes me sick! I _never_ want to see you again!!" She turned and stalked away, shoulders heaving from silent sobs.

"No, _wait_!" Strife cried out in anguish. He stumbled away from Aerowyn, all the while needing desperately to go back to her. "Odessa, _stop!_ Please! _I love you!_" 

She ran even faster when she heard his desperate words, blue hair glinting in the sunlight. She stopped only to unsheathe her bright yellow Blade, Lumina, and made a few quick cuts in the air. She completely disappeared from sight a few seconds later.

Aerowyn dropped her Charm Spell the second he could no longer detect Odessa's aura. Strife hardly even noticed. He slumped down on his knees and shakily picked up Rag. "Where is she?" he rasped out loud. 

"**_Strife...I don't know. I can't detect her anywhere. She must be on another planet already_,**" she replied, sounded strangely subdued. 

Aerowyn smiled, with a look of sardonic amusement on her face. "Perhaps you shouldn't have taught the Mercenary how to Slice before she was ready," she remarked dryly. 

A burning rage filled his body as he slowly straightened up at the sound of her voice. "_You_...you're the one who caused all of this!" Strife said darkly. Ragnarok blazed fiercely in his hands. 

The tall flaxen-haired woman chuckled. "No Strife, it was as much your fault as it was mine," she replied steadily, casually picking up her own Blade. 

A red haze filled his vision and his blood was boiling with anger. God how he hated her. He hated her with every atom of his being. An intense scarlet flame flared around Rag, demanding to be released.

"**_We'll make her pay_,**" Rag said, her voice deadly.

Strife agreed with her wholeheartedly. "_Burn_, you bitch!" he shouted at Aerowyn furiously, flinging a fireball from his burning Blade. Strife didn't waste any time forming intricate patterns with Threads, though it was a stronger and more accurate way to cast spells. He just gathered his enraged aura into a ball at the tip of Ragnarok and threw it. He did not stop, mercilessly flinging red-hot fireball after fireball, until he and Rag were completely drained. 

The unnatural red smoke gradually cleared, and Strife was not very surprised to find that Aerowyn was gone. She had probably cast a shield and Sliced out of there as fast as she could. His insane anger slowly faded as he realized that she had finally left him alone, and it was replaced instead by overwhelming grief. 

Strife collapsed exhausted and heartbroken onto the grass, dropping his Blade clumsily beside of him. He started to cry, anguished. Even the Meadow couldn't soothe him. "Rag..." he sobbed, "Oh _God_, Rag, what have I _done?_ Aerowyn's right - this is my fault. _My fault_."

__

"**Shh. It's okay, Strife. We'll find her, don't worry,**" she replied softly, trying futilely to calm him down. 

"No. Even if we do find her, she hates me. Didn't you hear her? _She never wants to see me again!_" he shouted into the Meadow. The words had been almost too painful to say; even now they cut into him like a knife. Crushed by sorrow, Strife continued to cry, and nothing Rag said or did could make him stop.

********************************

Strife woke up and found himself in the Meadow, with a blade of grass scratching his nose. He reached up to rub it and discovered that his face was wet. _They're tears_, he realized in disbelief. He suddenly remembered his dream and started to uncontrollably shake. _It was so real...almost as if I was actually there..._

Damn it, get a hold on yourself. He shook his head as if to erase the dream and unsheathed Ragnarok. She was warm, and her fiery red aura gradually seeped into his. Just holding her completely woke him up. But the dream was still there, in the corner of his mind. Rag shared his dreams, so he decided to consult her. 

Strife mostly spoke to her telepathically only when other people were in earshot. He was utterly alone in the Meadow and therefore asked her out loud, "Hey, Rag...about that dream that I had - it was so _real_...could you explain it to me?"

Rag was uncertain, he could feel it. He knew that what she was about to say she really didn't want to say to him, but did so only because he asked. "**_Strife,_**" she began a bit shakily, "**_that wasn't just a simple dream...that was a memory_**."

He started. _A memory?!_ "No," he blurted out in disbelief. But even as he denied it, he knew that Rag was right. Strife could still feel the anguish, the crushing sorrow that he had felt in his dream. Now that he thought about it, he realized that he could remember every single insignificant detail of that event. The color of Odessa's bathrobe, the tune that he was humming, the color of the sky..._nobody_ remembered their dreams so clearly. 

"But - I didn't even know that that happened until now," Strife protested. "How come I couldn't remember it? And how come everything I remember about Odessa is different from my dream?" His memories had always told him that he had met Odessa at one of the Baron's parties when she hadn't yet become an Assassin. He had always thought that he had dated her for a little bit and then broke up when he was sent on his first mission. His dream - no his memory - contradicted everything that he had believed for the past three years. 

"**_Oh for God's sake Strife, you're smarter than that,_**" Rag retorted, sounding exasperated. "**_Someone obviously cast a Forget Spell on you - probably your Sensei - but it didn't work. That memory of yours just ended up buried in some dusty corner of your brain and was replaced by others. Those other fake memories that you have tell you that you still had a relationship with Odessa, and that you still slept with her, but they also indicate that you never really loved her and left her because of your job. Like all Assassins should,_**" she said bitterly.****"**_Remember? Rule Number Four, Strife: The sword comes before any relationship._**"

Strife was shocked speechless at Rag's embittered speech. But he had known all along that something was wrong with what he remembered about Odessa - he had just refused to admit it. _That's why Rag knew...she always knew, just like I did. She just didn't want to tell me before I was ready. _

Only one question remained in his mind, "_Why did he do this to me?_"

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Hey, if you want me to continue writing, you better email me. Why? Because why should I bother writing if I don't even know if anyone is reading my fanfic?! It takes a lot of work to write this and I could really use some feedback to motivate me. Or else I'm just going to stop right now. So email me! You don't even have to write more than one word. Just 'good' or 'bad' would do. Alright, enough ranting. Just do it: [Cutlass317@aol.com][1]

__ __ __

   [1]: Cutlass317@aol.com



	5. Part 5

SM Chapter 5a ****

The War of the Assassins

Part 5

A tremendous roar of effort escaped his throat as Heero raised his sword high over his head and swung it forcefully down to slice Siren in half. She easily blocked the deadly blow and the sound of clashing metal filled the air. The two blades were locked for only a fraction as a second, and then Siren fluidly pulled Diablo away and swung him low, trying to shear the legs off of Heero. 

The Zero System had told him what was coming. Just as the burning blade was about to touch his legs, he back flipped over it. Heero landed solidly a few feet away from her. Siren eyed him in some amusement, her dark eyes flashing. "**It seems that I may have underestimated you,**" Diablo mused.

Heero did not reply. He just stood alert and wary with claymore held firmly in his hands. _She'll be making the first move this time. _A slight breeze began to blow. Long strands of Siren's midnight blue hair blew into her face; she casually hooked them behind her ear – and then disappeared. There was only air where she was standing just a few seconds ago. The Zero System couldn't detect her anywhere. 

"What the…" Heero began to say in surprise, but was interrupted by a blip in the Zero System. _Behind me – _he quickly turned to see Siren preparing to decapitate him, with a slight smile on her face. He brought his sword up just in time. She was just surprised enough to be distracted, Heero saw his chance and pressed his attack furiously. The Zero System told him every time there was an opportunity to immobilize her, but every time he tried to take advantage of it, Diablo was there, blocking his way. Every thrust he made was smoothly blocked, no matter how hard he tried to deceive her. This went on for a _very_ long time. 

Heero began to become frustrated. The fact that Siren looked bored didn't help. But before he could completely lose his temper at his inability to end the battle, Siren began her counterattack. She riposted with great speed and supple strength. She moved so fast that her Blade became nothing but an indistinct black blur. If it weren't for the Zero System, Heero would have been immediately cut down. Even so, he just barely managed to parry her quick thrusts and slices. And she was _strong_, almost too strong. Every time their swords met, Heero could feel the vibration from the collision move all the way from his wrists to his shoulders. With every smooth thrustof Diablo, he was driven further and further back. He was inevitably losing ground and strength at the same time. 

__

I'm going to lose. The sudden realization hit him like a bolt of lightning. He could feel himself slowly become exhausted and weak; he was breathing heavily, his arms were trembling and felt like lead. His claymore seemed too heavy and it was an effort to even hold it up. With each clash of metal, Heero was gradually losing strength. Siren, on the other hand, had not even broken a sweat. But even as he acknowledged that he was losing to her, he doggedly refused to give up. _No. I cannot be destroyed. My mission is to stop Siren. I will not fail. _He began to fight back with renewed determination, ignoring his burning muscles. 

Siren smirked at his sudden counterattack. She seemed supremely confident that she would win. _She is overconfident. That is her weakness. _With that thought, Heero pressed on, fiercer than ever. He wielded his sword with as much speed as he could muster, and took Siren by surprise. Heero aimed a quick strike to her head which she escaped virtually unscathed, except for a few strands of her dark blue hair. They floated gently to the ground.

Siren roared, furious. It annoyed her greatly that a mere Earthling had managed to actually cut off some of her beautiful hair in a swordfight that she was sure to win. Heero allowed himself a small smile at her petty anger. That just succeeded in infuriating her even more. "**This ends _now_, boy!**" she snarled at him as she swung Diablo downwards with tremendous force, meaning to slice him in half just as he had tried with her. 

Heero prayed that his sword wouldn't break as he thrust it up in defense. The impact was earth shattering, and a tiny hairline crack appeared on the blade of his claymore, but it fortunately did not break. Siren pressed down harder, glaring at him with those eerie black eyes. He pushed back with all of his strength. He couldn't move his sword or else she really would slice him in half with the amount of force she was applying. So their swords stayed lock in place, Diablo burning and crackling with energy, his claymore shaking under the strain. 

Beads of sweat rolled down Heero's face as he asked between gritted teeth, "Why did you save me for last?"

Siren laughed harshly and pushed down even harder. "**Because you are the strongest,**" she replied matter-of-factly. She had still not yet broken a sweat, and appeared as if she were not expending much effort while Heero was using every ounce of strength he had just to keep Siren from pushing his sword back.

Heero tried in vain to shove her Blade back but Siren was too strong. He felt himself slowly giving way, inch by inch; and watched in horror as Diablo gradually got closer and closer to him. He could feel the evil that the black sword radiated and shuddered at what it might do to him. _Stop thinking about that,_ he scolded himself silently, _don't give up now. Push her BACK. _

He cried out with effort as he summoned the last of his strength to push Diablo back a couple of inches. _Just a little further…_and then he suddenly felt something change in the air, something vague and indescribable that he couldn't identify - he just _knew_ that something was different. That something was wrong. So did the Zero System. Heero looked at Siren in alarm and saw that the strange inner flame that burned in her black eyes was brighter than ever. She was also uttering some words in that same twisty language again. _She's casting a spell! _

The acrid smell of burning metal filled the air. Heero looked at his claymore and saw in dismay that the black flame of Diablo was slowly but surely eating through his claymore like acid. Siren laughed maniacally, sensing that victory was near. Heero was not afraid nor was he really that surprised; he just quickly thought up of a plan of action in the few seconds he had before his sword was rendered useless. Just as he decided on what to do, his green sword melted in half and Diablo was heading straight for him. Heero threw his melted sword to the side and quickly twisted and leapt away from the black sword heading for him. Just as he predicted, he was too slow and he could feel the tip of the blade slicing into the flesh of his back, from his left shoulder to his right hip. He gasped in shock as he felt the sword, he had expected it to burn but it felt _cold_, infinitely cold. He almost expected his blood to freeze and to find red icicles on his back. And he could _feel_ the dark evil slowly seeping into him through the cut, as if the burning black blade had somehow transferred it into him. _Not to mention it hurts like hell_. 

Heero did not simply lie on the grass moaning in pain, though. He had a mission to accomplish. So when he hit the ground he rolled so that he was on his back, smoothly drew his gun, and fired a perfect shot straight at Siren's heart. 

********************************

Strife's head was reeling. Even as he asked Rag why Sensei had caused him to forget how he lost Odessa, he had a feeling that he already knew the answer. When a frustrated Rag spelled it out for him, it almost made him sick. His Sensei was the only father he had ever known, the thought that he would do that to him bothered him immensely. _He wouldn't have._

But even as he denied it, Strife could _remember_ Sensei forming the Forget Spell pattern, could see its bright white light, and most of all, he could feel his overwhelming relief and acceptance as it hurled towards him. The memories flooded him as if he had broken a dam that had held them back for three years. He had accepted being made to forget because Sensei had told him that it would be the best for him. Because he had been moping around for weeks, depressed, unfocused, undisciplined, and not making any progress. Sensei's advisors had recommended expulsion; after all, there was no use for a Mercenary that could not progress. No reason at all to waste time and money trying to mold him into an Assassin when it was obvious that he could never become one. In fact, Strife had been immensely grateful at the time towards Sensei for making an exception and for giving him a second chance. And the method by which he would obtain his second chance did not disturb him at all. Forgetting would be a way out of his miserable pain, out of his anguish, out of his fruitless, endless searching.

"I took the coward's way out, Rag. I was pitifully weak," he said to his Aura Blade. He was surprised at the amount bitterness and self-loathing he heard in his voice. The last time he had felt those two emotions was three years ago…

Rag had calmed down after she realized that Strife remembered everything. Now she replied soothingly, "**_It was the only option at the time in able for you to continue your Training to become an Assassin. You did what you had to. And because of it, you have become the best._**"

"And I have also lost any chance to reconcile with Odessa," he replied bitterly. There it was again – that ugly bitterness. Why was he so hung up about Odessa anyway? He was supposed to destroy her. _I should stop wasting my time moping over her. _

He shook his head as if to clear it. Something suddenly occurred to him. "Rag, do you think that the pain and hallucinations I experienced in Mestra City was caused by me trying to remember something that I was supposed to have forgotten?"

"_Probably,_" she replied slowly. "_It would certainly make sense._"

Well that solved that problem. Strife recalled the feeling of having forgotten something important about falling in love. He could remember it now. Sensei had said right before the Forget Spell had reached him that, "Falling in love is a nuisance, a mere distraction. Assassins do not accomplish their missions with distractions, and so Odessa shall now cease to become one." _Well it worked Sensei, _he thought resentfully, _Odessa can never again become a 'distraction'._

"**_Strife,_**" Rag began softly, hearing his unusually bitter thoughts, "**_you…_**"

Whatever she was about to say next was lost, because at that instant, a very familiar voice spoke loudly into his mind, "_Strife...I'm here, come save me. PLEASE..._"

"_Odessa…_" Strife breathed, shocked. He could feel her aura; she was afraid, angry, and lost. Lost…inside Diablo. Even in the Meadow on Lothos, on a different timeline, in a different _universe_, he could feel Diablo's dark presence tainting her aura. 

"By God, Rag, Diablo's taken control of her - she's in The Void," he said anxiously, not wanting to believe it. Bright green eyes dulled perceptibly as he continued, anguished, "And it's _my fault_. If it weren't for me, Odessa would've never turned to Dark Magic to seek revenge. If it weren't for me, Lumina would exist in place of Diablo. And if it's too late to help her, that'll be my fault too."

Rag became surprisingly angry. "**_Look, Strife,_**" she said fiercely, "**_It's about time that you stop beating yourself up over losing Odessa and blaming yourself for everything she did afterwards. If it was anyone's fault, it was Aerowyn's,_** **_so just STOP IT already. You're not made for self-pity or bitterness. Look where it got you with Sensei and his damn advisors!!_**" 

Strife recoiled as if he had been slapped. He stared at his fiery Blade for a few moments and contemplated her heated words. _Just what's gotten into me lately? I'm not acting like myself at all. _"You're right, Rag," he said eventually, "Blaming myself hasn't gotten me anywhere. I'll stop being so simpering and weak."

"**_So then what are you going to do?_**" Rag asked quietly.

He looked longingly at the fields of bright yellow daffodils, wishing that he could stay in the Meadow forever and not have to deal with Odessa or the Gundam pilots. He sighed. "It's time that I stop being crippled by my emotions…" he trailed off, and then abruptly stood up. The balmy breeze caught his unruly black hair and he automatically ran a hand through his thick locks to try to smooth it out. As the Pure Magic of the Meadow gradually cleared his head, Strife thought of the Baron and his threats, and knew that if he did not destroy the Baron's daughter he would be stripped of his job and of his Aura Blade. He looked at the blazing sword he held in his hand, and knew from the depths of his soul that he could not live without Rag, while he had been living for three years without Odessa. _The sword comes before any relationship._

"**_No,_**" Rag blurted, "**_Don't sacrifice your love for Odessa for me! I'm just a SWORD, Strife!_**"****

It was too late. He had come to a decision and was going to stick by it, no matter how much his Blade Soul objected. "And I'm an Elite Assassin," Strife replied steadily. "It's time that I start acting like one." 

******************************************

The gun rang out and time seemed to slow to a crawl. Heero watched in satisfaction as his bullet flew straight and true through the air, heading right to Siren's heart, and then gaped in shock as she _blurred_ and the bullet went right through her. She had not disappeared – Zero had just barely managed to track her movements. She had simply moved extremely quickly out of the way of the bullet and then back again to the same spot, leaving a residual image of herself in Heero's eyes so it seemed as if she had blurred. In actuality, she was just moving too fast for him to track. 

Siren stood whole and unperturbed, and looked amused at the fact that Heero had actually tried to shoot her. He shook his head in disbelief and in the sudden realization of the truth. _She was just toying with me all along. _If she had used that incredible speed when they were fighting, Heero would have never stood a chance, Zero System or no. But the fact only made him all the more determined. He started to get clumsily onto his feet, and abruptly fell back down again when he realized that he was in a much more serious condition then he had previously believed.

Heero winced at pain caused by the wound on his back, but the cut itself wasn't what was stopping him from getting up. Strangely, he felt physically ill. His head was muzzy, he felt nauseous, and his skin was clammy and wet. The world whirled about him and he couldn't think straight, much less stand up straight. He first thought it was because he had lost too much blood, but then noticed that there was no blood on the grass where he had been lying and gingerly touched his wound. The blood flaked off. Heero stared at his hand, horrified, as he realized that the blood from his wound _had_ actually frozen. Drops of crimson icicles covered his hand. He felt even sicker at the sight, and started shaking uncontrollably. _I must be poisoned_, he thought dizzily as he awkwardly tried to get up again. 

Siren laughed at his sad attempt to get up. She was standing feet apart with the tip of her sword puncturing the ground, slender hands resting on the hilt. "**Fool. You'll never make it to your feet,**"she taunted him. 

Heero glared at her and ever so slowly - flinching as he stretched his wound - got shakily to his feet. His whole body shook and he felt faint and weak. _Get a hold of yourself. _But he couldn't focus, not even with the Zero System flashing and beeping in alarm. Only one thought remained clear: he had a mission to complete. So he began to stagger towards the waiting Siren, raising his gun with a trembling hand. She swirled and wavered in his vision. _I can't get a clear shot – I have to get closer._

She narrowed her black eyes. "**Stubborn boy. Don't you know when to give up?!**" she shouted as the flame around Diablo flashed brilliantly and a wave of hot air headed right towards Heero.

He staggered backwards, but was not knocked over by the windblast. "My mission is to bring you to justice," he said determinedly between gritted teeth. "I will…complete…my…mission." He stepped doggedly forward, concentrating on putting one foot ahead of the other, ignoring his frigid wound and his reeling head. _Just a little closer…_

Another black flash of light and windblast pummeled Heero. He ignored it; he was so close. _Almost there_. When he was within three feet of her, his vision suddenly focused and she appeared sharp and clear. He immediately raised his gun and was about to fire, when he realized with dread that he couldn't move a muscle. 

Siren stood in front of him, black eyes burning and sword blazing fiercely, with one hand held slightly in front of her. "**This is as far as you're going to get, Heero Yuy," **Diablo said darkly.

Heero tried with all of his might to move his arms, his legs, his head, his eyebrows – _anything_. But he couldn't move any of his body parts even an inch. He couldn't move his vocal cords to utter even the most basic of all sounds. He couldn't even _blink_. _Damn it! I'm paralyzed. _

Siren was greatly amused. She laughed at him for at least a minute and then finally calmed down enough to say mockingly, "**How deliciously ironic! The Perfect Soldier stuck for the rest of his days with a gun raised and just about to pull the trigger. Isn't it the perfect epitome of a person more weapon than man?**"

Heero, of course, could not reply. Not like he would've if he could anyway. He desperately sought the Zero System for help, but it gave him no answers. So he just kept on struggling to move and tried to stay conscious. It was becoming increasingly difficult.

Siren idly watched him, not changing her position, and then remarked casually, "**You know, I could do a great many fun things with you like this…" **She then grinned wickedly, "**And sending you back to your woman in pieces is on the top of my list!**"

Heero glared at her defiantly even as she raised her sword. Deep down, he knew that it was over, and wondered at the irony of it all. He had finally found a reason to live and now he was going to die, slowly and painfully. He did not wish to spend his last moments bitter and angry at the world, though. Instead, he thought of Relena, and it brought a strange sort of serene calmness to him. He knew that she would not be afraid in his situation, and somehow that brought strength to the man who had only previously before gave strength to others_. I no longer welcome death, but I am not afraid. I will die with honor._

**********************

Duo watched from his dilapidated mobile suit as Heero staggered towards Siren and raised his gun. He waited for him to fire. And waited. And waited some more. "Why doesn't he _shoot_?" he asked impatiently. He saw Siren move her mouth to speak, but she was too far away to be heard. 

Trowa had been watching Heero carefully, analyzing his movements. "He hasn't blinked for over a minute now," he remarked quietly. "He's probably paralyzed."

Duo recoiled in shock. "_Paralyzed?!_" he sputtered, "No way!" Heero couldn't possibly be paralyzed...he was _Heero_. It was equivalent to saying that he was going to lose. Or die. Duo wanted to laugh at the thought. He had seen thousands of deadly things happen to the Perfect Soldier and yet he had never once come even _close_ to dying. 

He saw Quatre nod from the corner of his eye. "I agree with Trowa," the blond pilot said slowly, "If he was going to shoot, he would've done it by now. There's something wrong. And look at the way Siren's holding her hand out like that."

__

You always agree with Trowa, Duo thought, annoyed, as he took a closer look at his monitors. Indeed, Siren was holding her hand out and her sword seemed to be blazing more brightly than usual. He watched as she began to raise her sword. _C'mon Heero, SHOOT._ Heero didn't budge an inch while Siren's sword got closer and closer to him. Duo's mouth dropped as he realized the full seriousness of the situation and he said frantically, "You're right! He _is_ paralyzed, and in big trouble too!"

Wufei raised an eyebrow. "Well, what can _we_ do about it?"

Duo glared balefully at the other pilot. "Something besides watching him _die_!" he retorted angrily. "I don't know about you, but _I'm_ not goin' to just sit here!" He would never admit it to anyone, but Heero was his best friend and he was _not_ going to just watch him die. _Damn it, and just two minutes ago I thought it'd be impossible for him to die. _Duo smiled sardonically at the thought and checked to see if his gun was loaded - even though he knew bullets really wouldn't work against Siren - and then pushed the button to open the cockpit. 

"Duo, what do you think you're doing?" Trowa asked calmly. 

"Saving my friend," he muttered back as he dropped to the ground. He rolled to his feet and started to sprint towards where Heero stood frozen and Siren prepared to carve him apart. _Why do I always end up rescuing him? _he asked himself a bit ruefully. Duo heard the hissing sound of the other cockpits opening and the thump of his fellow pilots landing on the ground. 

"Wait!" Quatre shouted desperately. 

Duo didn't even look back as he yelled, "There's no time!" And there really wasn't. Siren's burning blade was about an inch from Heero's outstretched arm. Duo flinched at the thought of watching Heero get his arm cut off, and so he ran even faster. _I just hope that I'm not too late..._

***************************

Strife took a deep breath to clear his mind. Slicing to another timeline was one thing, but Slicing to another universe was something else. Doing both at the same time was almost unheard of, but he had this strange, urgent feeling that he must go to Earth, and soon. 

So Strife closed his eyes, raised Ragnarok, muttered the necessary words, and when he opened his eyes again, he could _see_. He could see the translucent Threads that were woven all throughout the Meadow, layers upon layers, like a million spider webs woven into each other to form a gigantic net. He remembered the first time he had seen the overwhelming chaos in the Meadow, and how in his confusion, had Sliced into the women's bathroom in his barracks. Strife smiled faintly at the embarrassing memory, he had been such a Rookie then. _But look at me now. _. 

"Where, Rag?" he muttered quietly. She did not answer - Strife supposed that she was still angry with him for some odd reason - but a bunch of Threads to the right of him began to glow with a crimson color. He walked over to the red mess and ever so delicately began to sort through them using the very tip of his Blade and his free hand. He pulled, tugged, wove, and untangled the various Threads of that universe until Rag flashed brightly when she touched the single Thread that connected to the Meadow on Earth. 

Strife sighed with relief as he slid Rag smoothly under the Thread, being careful not to cut it just yet. Finding that particular Thread in the thousands that had been tangled with it had taken concentration and a lot of time. Now came the easy part. He found the Timeline of that universe rather easily; it was an abnormally thick Thread that pulsed with bright red light. Strife held it in his left hand and looked at it closely, as usual, there were minute notches on it that were spaced every ten years. He gently grasped the Thread connecting Earth with the same hand and pulled it to the Timeline, feeling as a result every single Thread in the Meadow being pulled towards him since they were all connected. Even the sky and the ground seemed to tilt towards him a little. 

Strife ignored the usual phenomenon and ran the tip of Rag across the part of the Thread that contained the years A.C 190-200 and once again she flashed brightly at the spot where A.C 198 was. He marked the place extremely carefully with his fingernail. The mark would do no harm to the Timeline itself; it would just be of help to him when he was ready to Slice.

He took a deep breath and began to raise his Blade, but Rag interrupted by finally deciding to speak up. "**_Strife, are you sure you want to do it this way?_**" she asked worriedly. 

Strife rolled his eyes. "I told you already," he snapped impatiently. "There's not enough time to Slice to Earth and then go back in time from there. There's something wrong, Rag. I can feel it. I have to go, _now_." 

She was not giving up. "**_It's too dangerous, Strife! If you miss by even a millimeter..._**"

"We'll end up in The Void," he finished for her, grimly. He could feel her nod furiously, but he ignored her. "I can think of worse fates," he said simply. 

Now it was Rag's turn to sigh. She knew that tone of voice. It was the voice he used when he was set on doing something and absolutely nothing was going to stop him. "**_Alright,_**" she said resignedly, "**_let's rock and roll._**"

Strife could sense that her heart was not in it, but he did not care. Instead, he carefully placed the Timeline directly on top of the Thread that connected to Earth so that there appeared to be only one crimson Thread instead of two. He then raised Ragnarok, found the tiny mark he had made on the Timeline, prayed he wouldn't miss, and swung her forcefully down, aiming for the mark. There would have been little risk if he had just sliced one Thread at a time, but two Threads at once required more power and therefore raised the chances of missing the mark. Fortunately, his aim was true

Strife sighed with relief as he saw the ordinary, brilliant bright red flash, and heard the low rolling sound that reminded him of thunder. He eyed his Slice with satisfaction. It was perfect. It was a narrow red cut in the air of the Meadow, almost as if the air were a solid thing that one could slice through, which was really true in a sense. He had not actually cut through the Threads themselves, which was impossible. He had merely caused the Threads to react in a certain way to his Blade, and so while it seemed as if he had cut through the Threads themselves, he had merely cut open the fabric of space and time instead. 

Strife could see a small sliver of sky through the Slice of the Meadow of the Earth. One could always tell that they had successfully Sliced to another planet by looking at the color of the sky in the Meadow. The color reflected the general aura of the planet, and so one would know immediately if they were on the wrong planet. Strife gasped in shock as he gazed at the palest, purest blue sky he had ever seen. _That's impossible. No world could be this peaceful._

"_Wow_..." he breathed, still shocked. "Can the Earth really be so much at peace with itself?"

Rag was beaming, just happy that they were still alive and not floating somewhere in The Void. "**_Sure,_**" she replied brightly. When Strife did not respond and remained gazing dumbfounded at the tiny sliver of blue sky, she said a bit impatiently, "**_You know you could get a better look at that sky if you actually stepped through your Slice..._**"

Strife shook his head slowly, and tore his gaze away from the Slice. "Yeah...you're right," he said eventually. "Let's go."

Rag blazed brighter in answer, and he plunged her tip into the Slice and pushed one edge of it to the side and also pulled it downwards until the Slice was large enough for him to step through. It would only stay enlarged for a few minutes though, and the Slice would disappear after he went through it. 

Strife could see most of the Meadow now. It was identical to the one on Lothos, except of course for the color of the sky. It was an odd thing to see an alien Meadow floating suspended in the middle of _his _Meadow. In all of his years as an Assassin, he had never quite gotten used to the sight. It was almost like a strange picture...a three-dimensional picture hanging in the middle of his living room.

He heard Rag laugh at his silly thoughts and he glared at her. She didn't stop laughing. Strife sighed wearily and stepped through the hole in the air.

************************

Odessa could see with the eyes of Diablo. She had found a spot in The Void where his aura was overwhelmingly oppressive. Perhaps it was near where her heart used to be - she did not know. She sat at the very edge of the odd mass of thick, black aura and found that she could actually hear and see what Diablo heard and saw. 

And so she sat, careful not to touch the aura, watching helplessly as the handsome young Gundam pilot fought her valiantly and lost. Odessa had known that he would lose. She had been an excellent swordsman even before she had merged, and with Diablo, she was invincible. But what had shook her to the core was that the young pilot - she believed Heero was his name - had kept on fighting after he had received his wound.

Diablo's darkness had poisoned him, which was obvious by the way he staggered and swayed on his feet. But even when Diablo had used a magic windblast to push him back, even when he _knew_ that he had lost, he kept on fighting. He did not give up. 

At the instant when Diablo realized this, he was taken off guard. Seizing her opportunity, Odessa had managed to see Heero's aura using intense concentration. She had almost fainted with shock. His aura was the same deep, dark blue as Strife's. It spoke of his determination, his inner strength, his intelligence, his will to fight, his capability to be icy cold - like Strife's. But she had seen a flash of pure white light within that dark blue that also spoke of his capacity for kindness and compassion. It was a purity that could never be extinguished or tainted by Diablo's darkness. Just like Strife's aura. 

When Odessa had seen Heero's aura, she knew that she could not let him die. And yet there was nothing much she could do except watch as the frozen boy was butchered by her hands. She gazed at his intense blue eyes, and watched as emotion swirled there, unimpeded by Diablo's paralyze spell. She saw defiance there, being gradually replaced by acceptance and calmness, but she saw no fear. Something else was shining in his eyes, and his aura changed perceptibly - it was as if he were thinking of someone...

Her thoughts were interrupted by magic. Odessa could feel that someone was Slicing into the Meadow. _Who is that? _Of course Diablo could sense it too, so he turned his head. She saw through his eyes a thin red cut in the air, and the tip of a fiery crimson sword being stuck through it to enlarge it. She recognized the Blade. _Ragnarok...but no. It can't be..._

But it was. One black boot appeared in front of the other, and then long arms and legs, dark messy hair, those piercing green eyes, and all five feet of the blazing red sword stepped through the Slice.

Odessa wanted to sob with happiness and relief. _Strife..._

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Sorry that took so long, but it's obviously a long part. Guess what? Strife meets Heero and the other Gundam pilots in the next part, so you don't want to miss it!! EMAIL ME!!! [Cutlass317@aol.com][1] (My hyperlinks haven't been working lately and I don't think this one will either but don't let that keep you from emailing me!!!) 

   [1]: mailto:Cutlass317@aol.com



	6. Part 6

****

The War of the Assassins

Part 6

Strife stepped through the Slice and did not notice as it closed behind him because he was utterly dumbfounded at the sight that met his eyes. There he was - the man he had seen so many pictures of in so many books and magazines, the man that had been his idol when he was growing up. It was _Heero Yuy_. 

Strife got over his star-struck daze quickly as he realized the perilous situation that his idol was in. Heero Yuy, his favorite Gundam pilot, hero of the war, was about to be killed by Odessa and possibly Fused into Diablo. _No, not Odessa, _he corrected himself as he saw her eerie black eyes, _Diablo. _He was incredibly relieved. Despite his mind control and his previous statements to Rag, he felt as if he would still have some trouble with destroying Odessa. But now - she didn't even exist anymore. All that was left of her was Diablo, and Strife could deal with _him_ easily. 

He started striding purposefully towards where the two were standing, and noticed that Siren had cast a spell on Heero. _Paralyze_. "_Didn't think that she'd sink so low..._" he muttered to Rag. 

"**_Well, she's not Odessa anymore, remember?_**" she replied wearily. "**_Aren't you going to cast a Remedy Spell?_**"

"_I'm on it,_" he acknowledged. Strife felt something change in the air. Siren had finally noticed his presence and turned to look at him, obviously surprised. He couldn't quite get used to the disturbing sight of seeing Odessa being possessed by Diablo. It was as if she were tainted, dirtied by his evil. And Diablo had gotten strong...

Strife shook his head, ignored Siren's dark glare, and concentrated on casting his spell. There was no telling what Siren would do, and he'd be damned if he let his favorite Gundam pilot die with a gun in his hand. He raised Ragnarok and gathered the necessary Threads, and wove them into the correct pattern. Red light glowed in the air and hurled towards Heero as Strife threw the spell. 

Fortunately, Siren could not block the Remedy and cast Paralyze at the same time, and she was also taken off guard, so the spell reached Heero safely. Strife watched as he immediately dodged the sword heading towards him and fired all at the same time. He was impressed by his courage, but knew at the same time that it wouldn't work. He was not surprised when Siren blurred out of the way and reappeared again, unharmed. Heero had collapsed onto the ground; it was only then when Strife noticed the huge, frozen gash on his back and knew that he had been poisoned by Diablo's darkness. Strife shook his head in awe - the pilot had moved fluidly and with grace, as if he had no injury at all. 

"**_Impressive,_**" Rag murmured, "**_he held out even when he was poisoned. He's stronger than I thought..._**"

Strife agreed with her, but did not waste time to reply. Instead he shouted to Siren, who was about to slice the boy open, "Leave him out of this, Diablo! This is between you and me!"

Siren stopped to laugh at him. The sweet, musical voice of Odessa answered him dryly, "But I was never one to obey you, was I, Strife?" She began to raise her black sword. 

Strife was not fooled by her trick. He put on a burst of speed and managed to place his fiery Blade between Diablo and Heero. Siren glared at him darkly as their two Blades clashed, crackling with energy. He could feel Rag's shock at the strength and utter evil of Diablo, but he ignored it for the time being. 

Strife said fiercely between gritted teeth, "You can't fool me by using Odessa's voice, Diablo. And I _thought_ I said to leave the kid alone."

Siren drew back her Blade, and held it close to her, alert. Strife did much the same, putting his body between her and Heero, who appeared to be unconscious. She laughed again, harshly. "**I'd never think _you_ would defend the brat, Strife. It's not like you, Mr. Elite Assassin,**" Diablo said mockingly. 

"**_Careful Strife,_**" Rag warned, "**_he's stronger than you think._**" Strife knew that she had measured Diablo's strength in the brief instant that they had touched, and could tell that the Blade Soul had gotten much stronger than he had ever imagined.

"_Alright,_" he replied to Rag. He then glared at Siren, trying hard not to lose his temper. He had been doing that a lot lately, which was not like him. "I'm here to destroy you," he said simply. 

Siren was amused. "**Destroy _me_? Your _precious_ Odessa?**" she replied, her twisted voice practically dripping with condescension and contempt. 

Despite how hard he tried to ignore the comment, Strife found himself getting angry. "You're not Odessa," he snapped. He was strangely getting angrier at each word he spoke. "You corrupted her, Diablo. You _killed _her," he added, voice breaking. It was easier to blame it on Diablo than on himself.

Rag could sense that he was losing control. "**_Get a grip, Strife!_**" she commanded, failing to keep the anxiety out of her voice. 

She almost succeeded in snapping him out of it, but before he could completely calm down, Diablo added, feigning puzzlement, "**Funny...I always thought that it was _you_ who corrupted her. That _you_ destroyed her with your - how should I say - unfaithfulness.**"

Strife recoiled as if slapped. The words stabbed into him like knives and the Meadow started to swirl dizzily around him as they sank in. _He's right, I corrupted her. I destroyed her. _He felt an overwhelming anguish replaced immediately by an insane rage. "No!" he roared, enraged. "You're wrong. You're _wrong_!"

Siren merely laughed at him and said dryly, "**Wrong? I don't think so. Don't forget that I was once her Blade Soul. I know everything about her, and so I know that she blames _you_.**"

__

She blames me. The words echoed in his head and destroyed any shred of sanity he might have had left. Strife's vision began to be tinted with a blood red. 

"**_Strife!_** **_Stop this!_**" Rag shouted frantically. "**_You must not lose your temper, it'll make you reckless! You'll lose!_**"

Strife hadn't even heard Rag. His whole world was centered on the perverted figure that stood in front of him, mocking him with her words and her mere presence. Her whole body seemed to say, "This is because of you," and it drove him mad. He hated seeing Odessa like this; he couldn't stand it. He had to destroy her so that he would never have to see her black eyes and tainted aura ever again, or be killed in the process. Either way would free him from his crippling guilt. 

A furious, inhuman roar tore out of his throat as he charged Siren in a blind rage.

************************

Odessa's joy at seeing Strife again had faded quickly when she realized that all he saw in her was Diablo, no matter how much she tried to tell him otherwise. And she had almost fainted when she heard that he was supposed to destroy her, not save her. She had thought that he really was just a jerk, despite what she had tried to convince herself these past three years, and was just about to give up on him when she heard him say broken-heartedly, "You _killed_ her!" 

And then Diablo had denied it and blamed it on him, then she had seen the anguish and guilt in his face, and had watched in utter surprise as he attacked Diablo in a blind rage, all in the name of her. That's when she _knew_ that he still loved her. Odessa could tell just from the expression of guilt and pain on his face that he had never loved Aerowyn and had always loved her, and she wanted to melt in his arms. 

But of course, she couldn't. And her beloved Strife had flown off the handle, even now he attacked her recklessly and without the excellent form he had worked on so long in Training. She watched in horror as he expended all of his energy flinging fireballs and using sloppy, energy-draining maneuvers. _It's only a matter of time before Diablo retaliates, and then he dies. _

Odessa wanted to cry. Strife had saved Heero, whom she had not wanted to die, but now she would have to watch him be carved apart by her Blade in exchange. And with Strife gone, Heero would have no chance. She would lose both of them. She had never felt so helpless in her entire life.

The large, black mass of Diablo's aura suddenly shifted. Diablo was beginning his counterattack. Odessa saw Strife gradually slipping, having used up almost all of his energy already. She knew that she couldn't stand watching him die, and that she had to do something, _soon_. 

*****************

Duo gaped as he saw a tall, lanky, dark haired, green-eyed man _step through the air_. One instant there was just air, the next a red slit, and then the man casually stepped through as if he were stepping through a door. And that wasn't all, he was carrying a huge, blood red sword that was on fire just like Siren's sword. 

From then on, one shock just followed another. Duo watched as the stranger gave Heero a look that reminded him of the awed look ordinary civilians gave Relena when they met her in person, and then the stranger actually _rescued_ him. By doing something funny with his sword and sending an odd ball of red light straight towards Heero, which had miraculously unparalyzed him. Duo had just decided that the man had probably cast a spell when Heero collapsed onto the ground, and he could see for the first time that he was badly wounded. 

But before he could reach him, the stranger and Siren had a conversation that he was too far away to hear, the stranger had become infuriated, and he had started attacking Siren fiercely. And then wonders of wonders - he started flinging _fireballs_ from his sword. 

Siren deflected one with her sword and it landed with a burst of flame three feet away from Duo. He could feel the intense heat as it flew by him, and his immediate reaction was to drop to the ground, belly first. He spit out a wad of dirt. "I sure hope that guy's on _our_ side," he muttered to himself, slowly getting up and eyeing the large crater the fireball had made with wonder. 

"Duo!" Quatre called, panting as he ran up to him. Trowa and Wufei were right behind him. 

"Quiet!" he hissed back in return, pointing at the two warriors fighting a short distance away, "Do ya want them to hear or somethin'?"

Quatre immediately clamped a hand over his mouth, eyeing the chaos warily.

"Heero's still out there," Trowa said quietly, his emotionless gaze fixed on the figure lying limp in the middle of the meadow. 

"And he's not exactly in the safest place," Wufei added dryly, as numerous fireballs pummeled the earth around Heero's body. 

Duo swore, and hoped that Heero wouldn't be vaporized by the time he reached him. He suddenly remembered something he'd noticed about Heero. "Hey, he's injured too. I saw this huge cut on his back just a few minutes ago," he stated to the other pilots.

"How bad is it?" Quatre asked worriedly, making sure to keep his voice down. 

"I'm not sure," he admitted, "but I haveta get him out of there. I don't know if that strange man is on our side or not, but whoever he is, he's gonna burn Heero to a crisp pretty soon!"

The other pilots all eyed the said 'strange man' and the careless way he was throwing deadly fireballs, and seemed to agree with him. 

"Just who is that guy anyway?" Trowa remarked curiously. "I thought I saw him step through the air a few moments ago."

"I know," Duo acknowledged, scratching his head. "He just sorta...appeared. But we can worry about him after I get Heero."

"By yourself," Wufei said in disbelief, obviously thinking that Duo wouldn't be able to pull it off. 

Duo glared angrily at the other pilot and said indignantly, "I can do it! I'm the _master_ of stealth!"

Wufei snorted. It was obvious what he thought of _that_. 

Surprisingly, Trowa of all people came to his defense. "No, he's right. If we all try to reach Heero at the same time, one of them," he vaguely indicated Siren and the stranger, "will most likely notice. It would be best if Duo goes and we stay behind."

Duo gaped in surprise, but when he thought about it, he supposed it was just the most practical way of going about saving Heero. And Trowa was the most practical guy he knew. But he still couldn't help shooting Wufei a 'I told you so' look. Wufei glared back. 

"Be careful, Duo," Quatre said softly, apparently not noticing the two giving each other ugly looks. 

Pointedly ignoring Wufei, he grinned and said cheerfully, "Ah, don't worry 'bout me, Quatre. I'll have Heero back in no time!" _If I'm not burned to a crisp myself. _

Suddenly a fireball crashed to the ground a few feet away from where the Gundam pilots were standing. Duo jumped, Quatre flinched, and Trowa and Wufei just stared at the smoldering crater. "I shouldn't tempt fate," Duo muttered to himself, and then turned and started to make his way to where Heero was still lying, oblivious to the chaos around him. 

"You guys should probably find some cover!" he called back as more fireballs started to rain down on them. Duo saw Trowa nod from the corner of his eye, and then the other three pilots headed back to their respective Gundams. 

He tried to keep low to the ground and out of sight, but it was obvious that the two magicians were pretty engrossed in their fight and wouldn't notice him. Still, Duo made sure to make a large circle around the two and keep as far away as he could without losing sight of Heero. He finally reached him and eyed the smoking craters scattered around his body. Duo shook his head in disbelief as he noticed a crater right by Heero's head. "You are one lucky man..." he said, amused, and then frowned when Heero made no reply. Duo took off his oversized helmet and checked his pulse and found it steady. Heero was still alive, but unconscious. 

"Thank God for that," Duo said to himself, relieved. "Relena would've killed me if I came back without ya."

At that, Heero stirred and opened his eyes. "Duo..." he said in some surprise. 

Duo grinned. _Figures he'd wake up after I mention Relena. _"Hey buddy!" he said brightly, "Looks like you're awake. You had me pretty worried back there. How ya feelin'?"

Heero slowly sat up and Duo saw him involuntarily wince as he pulled the skin around his wound. "Like hell. What are you doing here?" he replied steadily, though his face was covered with sweat and his arms were trembling minutely. 

Duo frowned. Heero almost never showed that he was in pain except if his wound was really serious. And he definitely rarely admitted it. "I should probably check that wound of yours," he stated dubiously, ignoring his question. Heero did not reply. There was an odd, glazed look in his normally alert eyes, and it frightened him. _I don't think it's just the cut that's bothering him..._

But Duo bent over Heero's back anyway, and gasped at the sight. The cut itself wasn't that deep or really that gruesome, it was just large. But the blood that matted around it was hard and crystalline, and odd black pus was seeping out of it, seemingly freezing the blood.

"Heero, your - your blood..." Duo stammered, "it's _frozen_." 

Heero grimaced. "I know. There's something else wrong with me - I think I'm poisoned," he said calmly and surely, as if he were stating that he thought it'd rain tomorrow.

Duo knit his brows in confusion. "But - how? And what kind?" He hadn't seen any poison coated on the sword, he was pretty sure Siren didn't carry any with her, and she had not shot any poison darts. 

"Through her sword, but...I don't know exactly how - and I don't know what kind of poison it is." Heero replied incoherently with some effort. He was now covered with cold, clammy sweat and his whole body was trembling. He didn't even seem to notice the stranger and Siren fighting a short distance away, or the numerous craters around him, and Heero noticed _everything_. 

__

Screw the stranger and his fight, Duo thought, _I have to get Heero out of here. He looks terrible. _"Heero," he began with concern, "do ya think you can stand up? I haveta get you out of here before another fireball heads our way and actually hits you."

Now it was Heero's turn to be confused, "What fireballs...?"

Duo stared at him. "So you really haven't noticed..." he said in disbelief. By the look on Heero's face, he hadn't. Duo shook his head and said hastily, "Never mind, it doesn't matter. I'll explain later. C'mon, I'll help you get up."

"No, I got it," Heero replied as he shakily got to his feet, lacking all of his usual cat-like grace. Duo watched as he tried to take a step, bit off a cry of pain, and then started to collapse again. 

"Whoa there," Duo said in alarm as he caught Heero's arm and pulled him up. "Just let me help you out, man," he continued, putting Heero's arm around his neck and supporting most of his weight. 

"Thanks..." Heero said dazedly, only half conscious.

"No problem," he replied, lacking his usual cheerfulness. Duo then realized he had left the Zero System helmet lying on the ground and he picked it up with his free arm. _Howard would've killed me if I just left it out here, _he thought with a small smile.

They started walking slowly, and Duo noticed worriedly that Heero more or less staggered, not walked, and he had to catch him frequently when he started to collapse. On top of that, fireballs were still raining down on them and Heero wasn't alert enough to spot them, so Duo had to dodge them all by himself.

After awhile, Duo noticed that Heero wasn't even walking at all and that he was practically carrying him. He had become unconscious again. Duo took a look at his face. It was pale, clammy, covered with sweat, and his lips had a blue tinge to them. His breathing was shallow and had an odd rasping quality to it. Duo started to get really worried and knew instinctively that he couldn't let him stay unconscious. "Heero," he said anxiously. "Wake up, man. Snap out of it!"

Heero did not reply nor did he wake up. Duo was about to start shaking him when he heard a voice that froze his blood. "**Time to die, Strife,**" he heard Siren say grimly. He turned his head in horror and realized that he had paid so much attention to the fireballs and to Heero that he had accidentally walked right where Siren and the stranger were fighting. Fortunately, Siren didn't notice him, being too busy with the man who kneeled before her with Diablo at his throat, his own sword lying behind him, out of reach. 

Duo decided that the only smart thing to do was to get the hell out of there, but then the helmet suddenly slipped out of his sweaty hand and hit the ground with a loud thud. _Uh oh. _Siren lifted her head at the noise and glared at him with her black eyes. "**Oh no, you're not getting away from _me_. I'll deal with you brats later,**" she said fiercely. Her eyes flashed angrily as she raised her free hand and Diablo began to glow brilliantly. Duo realized with dismay that he suddenly couldn't move a muscle. Heero hung on to him like a dead weight, still unconscious. _Shit, we're in trouble now..._

***********************

Strife had fought like a Beserker, wildly, carelessly and without any reason. He had only known that he was _angry_, and that he had to kill Siren. He ignored the desperate cries of his Blade Soul as he flung fireballs recklessly, not caring where they landed and attacked with sloppy sword maneuvers. He did not care how he managed to destroy her, he just knew that he had to. 

And yet when she retaliated and he started to lose, his anger gradually faded and he felt no bitterness. In fact, Strife began to feel relieved that he was going to die. He could finally be at peace, free from the world, free from a tainted Odessa, free from his guilt. So when Rag flew out of his hands and he felt Diablo at his throat, he did not care. He merely waited for the end and welcomed it wholeheartedly. His soul had died three years ago; perhaps now he could join it and be at rest. 

Strife felt an odd sense of detachment. He saw Siren move her mouth and he heard her speak, but the words did not register clearly in his mind. It was as if he were listening to a foreign language, knowing only that she spoke but not what she said. It was the same with Rag, who was still shrieking to him about something. He saw Siren move, but the movement had no meaning to him, and no purpose. The fact that she lifted her hand was just that - she lifted her hand. It meant nothing to him. He felt cold, empty, and dead inside. Nothing could possibly matter to him now. It would all be over soon.

********************

Odessa watched with tears streaming down her face as Strife lost. She had known that he'd lose from the moment he started fighting, and yet she could do nothing. The thing that upset her most was not that he was going to die though, it was the dead look in his eyes as he kneeled before her. It was the look of a man who accepted death only because it'd be an escape, a man who welcomed it because living was too painful. It was the look of a man who's soul had died before his body. 

Odessa hardly even noticed Heero and the man with the braided hair; she was so transfixed by his gaze. The dead, empty look in Strife's usually animated green eyes was more than she could bear, because she knew that she had caused it. A sick feeling in the pit of her stomach rose up her throat to become a tortured sob. "Strife!" she cried at the top of her lungs, "I'm still alive! You didn't kill me! You didn't lose me! _It wasn't your fault! Strife!_" He didn't hear her, he just gazed at her blankly with that sick, twisted look as Diablo inched closer and closer to his neck. 

"_No!_" Odessa sobbed wretchedly, her shoulders shaking. "_You can't die!_ Let him go, Diablo - let him _go!_" And without realizing exactly what she was doing she punched the thick, dark mass that she was standing next to in sheer rage and desperation. Her hand did not just go through the shapeless mass like she had expected, though, it actually met resistance and then sank in. She watched in utter surprise as Siren flinched and pulled back her Blade. _That's it, _she thought in wonder._ That's how I can fight Diablo. _

Odessa began punching and kicking the shapeless black thing with all of her might. With each blow she landed, Siren recoiled as if physically struck. She staggered back a few feet and dropped her Blade, crying out in pain. "**_What are you DOING?!_**" Diablo roared furiously within her mind. 

She ignored him and focused her intention on Strife, who was still kneeling on the ground, only minutely surprised at Siren's pain. "Get _up_ Strife!" she shouted desperately. He did not stir. "Get up, get up, get up!" she screamed, frustrated, now tearing and scratching at the solid black mass along with punching and kicking it. Strife still did not move for his Blade. _I'm not reaching him, _she thought despairingly.Odessa suddenly noticed that the black aura-like mass had started to fade a little bit, no longer so oppressively dark or thick. She could almost see the grayish light of The Void filtering through it. 

"**_STOP IT!_**" Diablo commanded, his voice thick with pain. 

__

Now's my chance. She was eerily calm, knowing exactly what she was about to do and why. So without a second thought, Odessa plunged into the black mass and let herself be swallowed by it, fighting it fiercely from within. 

********************

Strife watched blankly as Siren staggered back and cried out in pain, as if she were being attacked by some invisible foe. Diablo dropped to the ground, its black aura burning sluggishly. It did not shake him out of his stupor though; he merely waited for her strange fit to be over so that he could die. He was vaguely aware of Rag shouting at him about something, but he did not understand her.

Suddenly, Siren screamed, her eyes tightly shut. When she opened them again, they were a beautiful, clear violet. Strife watched in utter surprise as her aura changed to that familiar sky blue, as pure and peaceful as the sky above him. "Strife..." Odessa said in her quiet, musical voice. 

It succeeded in snapping him out of his dazed stupor. He got shakily to his feet, trembling all over. "No," he rasped painfully, refusing to believe his eyes. "It can't be...you're - you're _dead_."

Odessa looked at him with love and compassion shining in her eyes. "Listen to me very carefully, Strife, while I still have control," she said steadily. Strife nodded helplessly. "I know what's been killing you, what has been eating you alive. You believe you destroyed me and corrupted me, and that I hate you. You are wrong." He let out a breath that he hadn't known he was holding as she continued, "Strife...you must not feel guilty for what has happened to me. I brought it upon myself. None of it was really your fault, though if you insist that I must forgive you, then I do, with all of my heart. For the past three years, deep down, I have always loved you, Strife, and I still do," she said softly, unshed tears shining brightly in her eyes. "Forgive me for not having the courage to admit it and fight Diablo sooner." 

Her quiet words lifted a weight that he had not known that he had carried for three years. He felt almost dizzy with relief. _She doesn't hate me, she forgives me, she LOVES me, _he thought giddily, overjoyed. Strife started to walk towards her, saying in a rush of happiness, "Of course I forgive you, Odessa. Thank you for forgiving _me_. You don't know how much it means to me, but never mind that. The only thing that matters now is that you're alive, and that I love you." He didn't even mind how cliché that sounded as he raised a hand to touch her pale face. 

Surprisingly, she recoiled. Strife would've been crushed if it weren't for the look of love and happiness in her liquid violet eyes. She took a step away from him, while saying gently, "No, Strife. You mustn't touch me, for I don't know how long I can hold out against Diablo." Odessa shook her head sadly and added, "I can feel him even now, fighting back, and I'll only be a danger to you. Because I know that you can't destroy me even though it is your mission, but when Diablo takes over again, he'll be sure to destroy _you_."

Strife furrowed his eyebrows in confusion, "How did you know that I'm here to destroy you?"

"Never mind that," she replied calmly. "There's not enough time to explain."

"I don't understand," he said, frustrated. "Why can't you fight him and win? Why can't you defeat him?"

Her eyes were infinitely sad. "Strife...he's too strong, and there's too much of me that still lusts for power and will side with him. I cannot win, so I must leave before I kill you."

"But I just found you again!" he shouted angrily, devastated by her words. "You can't leave me! Not now, Odessa..." But he paused and his expression became soft as he just looked at her. Strands of her midnight blue hair floated gently in the air. She hadn't changed much in the past three years - no, she had become even more beautiful than ever. "You're beautiful..." he trailed off.

Her expression was pained as she protested, "Strife, please don't-"

"Odessa, I need you. I don't think I could bear to lose you again. Please stay with me," he interrupted, pleading quietly, knowing all the while that she'd refuse. Siren's taunting voice echoed in his mind - _but I was never one to obey you, was I, Strife?_

She shook her head, her hair whipping across her face. "No. I'm sorry Strife, I want to - but I _can't_," she said desperately, her voice breaking. She was trembling with the force of the inner battle she was fighting. 

He stepped close to her and tenderly hooked the stray strands of her hair behind her ears, and then ran his hands through it. She did not protest or move back this time; instead she just looked up at him, her violet gaze explaining everything. There was pain there, and love, but also fierce determination. Strife knew that she would leave, no matter what he said. 

"Odessa..." he murmured softly, "I understand." And then he bent over and kissed her. She was warm and her lips tasted sweet. 

She gently pulled away and said, relieved, "Thank you," and then untangled herself from his arms and walked over to where Diablo lay quiescent. Odessa picked up her Blade and quickly and fluidly began to Slice. A black slit appeared in the air, and she plunged Diablo into it and enlarged it. She then turned to look at him one last time. The darkness was now visible at the edge of her beautiful violet eyes and pale blue aura, slowly seeping in, and it hurt Strife to see it. 

Her eyes were shining with tears as she said quietly, "Goodbye, Strife. I promise I shall see you again...some day...if I can manage to defeat Diablo for good." She turned and put one foot in the Slice.

He forced himself to stay put and not run to her, which he wanted to do very badly. "Goodbye, Odessa...I'll find a way to stop Diablo. I swear by my Blade," he replied softly and with determination. She nodded solemnly, gave him a long, affectionate look, and then disappeared through the Slice.

Strife sighed wearily. He felt exhausted, but not devastated or anguished. He felt almost - cleansed. Yes, that was it. His soul felt pure and clean for the first time in three years, because Odessa had forgiven him and still loved him. He started laughing for no reason whatsoever except for the fact that he was overwhelmingly happy. She was alive, and loved him, and that was all that mattered. 

"**_Well, way to go loverboy,_**" said Rag sarcastically, lying a few feet away from him. 

He jumped and cried, "Rag, I almost forgot that you were here! God I'm so unbelievably happy!" He started to walk towards her, though he felt like skipping.

"**_I noticed,_**" she replied dryly and a bit sullenly. 

Strife was puzzled until he realized what was bugging her. He picked her up and laughed. "Oh c'mon Rag! You know that I'm sorry! I know, I know, I'm an idiot for not listening to you. I'm sorry, I'm sorry!"

His good mood seemed to be infectious. Rag started to laugh along with him and then sobered up enough to say, "**_Alright, ya big lug. I forgive you. But, uh, you probably shouldn't talk aloud to me. We've got some famous company._**"

It was only then that Strife noticed the paralyzed young man with braided hair who was carrying Heero a short distance away from him. He had a cheerful, bright, sunny yellow aura that was currently swirled with black confusion. It could only be one person. "Duo Maxwell...?" he asked incredulously. Duo was his second favorite pilot, for his good humor if nothing else. 

He saw a swirl of acknowledgement and surprise in the pilot's big blue eyes. "Oh crap," Strife muttered to himself, hastily casting a Remedy Spell. _I can't believe I just let him and Heero stand there for like ten minutes... _He was surprised that Diablo's magic had lasted so long. His own Paralyze Spell wore off in two minutes if he didn't physically keep it going. 

Rag was laughing at him. "**_Way to treat your childhood heroes, eh Strife?_**" she taunted.

"_Shut up, Rag,_" he retorted as the spell started to do its work. Duo stirred and the first thing he said was, "God, I'm surprised that my eyes didn't dry out! Thanks, mister!" 

Strife laughed. He couldn't help it. It seemed like just the thing the braided pilot would say in a situation like this. Duo blinked at him and scratched his head. 

Strife noticed that Heero was unconscious and that his dark blue aura was tainted with Diablo's darkness. He started to move towards him to check him out, but Duo suddenly drew his gun and pointed it at his chest. He said suspiciously, "Stop right there, mister. Just who are you anyway?" 

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Yeah, yeah I know, this part was long-winded and sorta sappy and Strife hasn't even said more than two words to the pilots. But I promise that the next part will be more interesting! Nope, it's not over yet. Aerowyn will show up again and so will another Assassin soon enough. (Though probably not in the next part) If you have any suggestions about the new Assassin's name (he's male) and the name of his Blade (she's female), please tell me! EMAIL: [Cutlass317@aol.com][1]

__

   [1]: mailto:Cutlass317@aol.com



	7. Part 7

SM part 7 ****

The War of the Assassins

Part 7

"Stop right there, mister. Just who are you anyway?" Duo said fiercely as he held his ground, not caring if bullets didn't seem to work against these crazy people with swords. He wasn't going to let some stranger with a blazing, five foot sword come within two feet of the unconscious Heero. _I'm not THAT stupid. _

Surprisingly, the stranger started chuckling as if he had just told a hilarious joke. Duo eyed the tall, dark-haired man with bemusement. "Whaddya laughing at? Will you tell me your name already?" he asked, exasperated, "And how do you know mine?" 

The stranger gradually stopped laughing, but a slight, wry, smile remained on his tan face. "Forgive me, Duo, I'm not laughing at you in particular," he said seriously. "My name is Strife Mercury, and I know about you and the other Gundam pilots because you are all very famous on my planet."

Duo rolled his eyes and didn't lower his gun. What was up with all these humans pretending that they were from another planet anyway? "Alright - Strife - I'm sick of this 'I'm-from-another-planet' crap. Where are you _really_ from?" he demanded annoyed. Heero's breathing was still shallow and rattled strangely in his chest, and the more time he spent arguing with this Strife guy, the more danger Heero would be in. 

Strife looked at him, emerald green eyes steady and calm, not worried about the gun pointed at him in the least. His sword blazed fiercely in his right hand, but he did not raise it. "Look, I'm telling the truth, whether you want to believe it or not…" he stated coolly, and then trailed off a bit as he looked at Heero, a bit of concern worming into his cold eyes. "Your friend Heero there will die if you do not let me help him, Duo," he added, meeting Duo's eyes and holding them.

Duo stared into those brilliant green eyes, and saw no evil there as he had seen in Siren's. They were cold, yes, but he could see a slight amusement and concern underneath the frost. _Concern about Heero. And he knew his name…_Duo heard another rattling, rasping breath from Heero and knew that it was becoming increasingly difficult for him to breathe. Also, the strange, thick, black pus around his cut was starting to spread onto the rest of his back, and Duo _knew_ that that was not going to make things any better. _I don't really have a choice, _he thought ruefully, rubbing the back of his head thoughtfully with his free hand. _And I can't let Heero just die without trying SOMETHNG. _The nearest hospital was miles away, and all of the Gundams were disabled. 

Strife was still just looking at him. "Alright…" Duo said grudgingly, lowering his gun and setting Heero gently to the ground. "But just one funny move, Strife, and I'll-"

"You'd think I'd harm my childhood hero?" Strife interrupted, with a hint of irony, as he started to move towards the two pilots.

"Childhood hero?!" Duo sputtered, surprised, looking skeptically at the tall, mature man walking towards him. "You may be from another planet, but you're obviously older than we are. There's no way that Heero could be your _childhood_ hero," he blurted out without realizing how redundant and dumb he sounded. 

"There's no time to explain. And quiet - I need to concentrate," Strife replied coldly, doing something funny with his sword and turning over Heero so that his back was facing up. 

Duo was about to retort indignantly when he was silenced by the sudden appearance of red streaks of light in the air, apparently caused by the tiny movements of the fiery crimson sword. He had sort of noticed Strife doing the same thing earlier, when he was paralyzed, and was not really too impressed, but now that he was up close, he could tell that it was obviously a form of magic. The red light appeared to form a pattern, and it did not fade away as mere residue from the sword's flame. It was real light, looking as bright and solid as a laser beam. The pattern was complicated, three-dimensional, doubling in on itself, weaving back and forth to form almost an orb of sorts. Duo found himself unable to tear his eyes away from it. And then abruptly, it was heading straight for Heero, and he thought of the ball of red light that had hurled towards him just a few minutes ago. He had been scared out of his wits, but the fear had disappeared the instant he realized he could move… 

The ball crashed into Heero's back with a intense flash of red light, and did not disappear, as Duo had expected. Instead, it pulsed gently on the wound and sucked up all of the black pus, like a vacuum. When the orb was full of the foul black liquid that amazingly did not seep through the large gaps in its structure, Strife jerked his sword backwards and the orb flew to him. He muttered a few foreign words and his sword flashed brilliantly as he sliced through the magical orb with tremendous force. It disintegrated at the touch of his fiery blade. Before Duo had time to even blink, Strife had formed another red pattern and threw it at Heero. This time, the red light did disappear as it hit, but it seemed to have no effect whatsoever on the still unconscious Heero. 

"Wha - what did you do that for?" Duo stammered shakily, eyes wide. _This guy is too much…_

Strife did not even turn to face him - he stared fixedly at Heero instead, silent. He almost seemed to be shocked by something about the pilot…

Duo was about to ask again when he heard Heero stir on the grass, and then his jaw dropped as he watched his fellow Gundam pilot climb fluidly to his feet without assistance.

Heero appeared completely well again. He was breathing normally, he was no longer sweating, his skin was not that unearthly white color, and his eyes were sharp and alert as he first looked levelly at Duo, and then piercingly at Strife. 

Heero had seen and noted Strife's sword. It was obvious to Duo, who knew almost all of his friend's subtle nuances. But he couldn't bring himself to speak quite yet to tell Heero that Strife had rescued him. He couldn't even really believe that Heero was standing there in front of him, alert and healthy. Duo could still hear that horrible rasping sound of his slow, uneven breath as he died.

Heero smoothly brought out his gun and aimed it at Strife just as Duo had done and demanded darkly, "Who are you?"

*****************

When she had grasped Diablo again in her hands, Odessa had been almost swallowed by the darkness that had been slowly encroaching upon her. He was strong, so _strong_, and it had taken every ounce of will she had to resist him long enough to Slice the first Thread she came upon - to the Mongolian steppes.

Once she was safely there, she could hold out no longer. The darkness overwhelmed her and she was torn from her body and physically pushed out of the heavy black mass. Even though she was utterly exhausted, Odessa had immediately bounded to her feet and had thrown herself determinedly back at the thick aura. But she was not surprised when she ran face first into a magic wall that Diablo had cast. There was no way she could get through the wall, and she did not harm Diablo by attacking it. So she had settled back down in the drab grayness of The Void for a tongue-lashing delivered by her former Blade Soul…and to wait. 

__

For what? Odessa thought to herself, but not bitterly. She felt strangely optimistic - the combination of healing Strife's spirit and being told that he loved her had left her almost overwhelmingly happy. Seeing him again, even though for such a short period of time, had left her feeling so giddy, so joyous, so _right_. She could still remember the warm, comforting feeling of being held in his arms…

"**_Aww…isn't that sweet?_**" Diablo remarked sarcastically. He still sounded angry.

Odessa glared at the dark mass behind the magic wall, which she now knew was the inner aura of Diablo. "Leave me alone, Diablo," she replied succinctly, "you already gave me a lecture a few minutes ago. What do you want _now_?" 

He laughed, and then replied with fake sweetness, "**_Now, now Odessa, I wasn't trying to insult you or anything._**" She snorted, skeptical, as he continued, "**_I think it's just so sweet that you and Strife have got together again - _**" and then his voice became harsh and malignant as he added, "**_because now I have even more of a reason to destroy him!_**"

Odessa just stared at him for a second before the words really registered in her brain. _Destroy him…_ "But why?!" she managed to sputter. "He's done nothing to you!"

"**_Because you hurt me and NO ONE gets away with that,_**" he replied heatedly. "**_I'll make you pay…_**" Odessa rolled her eyes. He was still so hung up about that…

She wasn't worried about Strife in the least. "Hmm…but how are you going to find him?" she asked slowly, as if voicing an afterthought, knowing that Diablo did not know. He probably knew from reading her mind that Strife was looking for the Preventers but since she didn't know where they were headquartered, he wouldn't know either.

"**_Silly girl,_**" Diablo replied with disgust.****"**_Just because we're in the middle of Mongolia doesn't mean that I can't Slice to a place that has people - and most everyone will probably know where the infamous Preventers are headquartered. It's only a matter of time…_**"

Odessa shrugged and said nonchalantly, "I don't know any of the major continents or countries on this planet and so I don't think you do either - besides, there's also the problem of language…"

"**_I'll find him,_**" he replied firmly, voice dark. "**_And when I do, I'll destroy him._**"

***************

Heero did not remember clearly much of the past ten minutes or so that he had spent with Duo. He only remembered the freezing, agonizing pain of the wound on his back and this odd dark shadow that kept creeping up into the corner of his mind and whispering things to him. Telling him how he would find release, rest, and happiness if he just let go of life. Besides, life was a painful thing anyway and he had always wanted to end it, so why not just do it now?

For an instant, Heero had almost succumbed to the tantalizing rest the shadow spoke of, but at that second, he had felt a burning, searing pain overcoming the coldness of his cut. He then had a strange mental picture of the shadow being sucked away and destroyed by this fiery pain. And then he had felt warmth - such sweet, healing, rejuvenating warmth as he had never felt before - and had woken up. 

Now, Heero felt better than ever and was prepared to fight the tall, slender, dark-haired man in front of him, even without the Zero System or a sword. He smoothly raised his gun that he had somehow held onto throughout his numerous ordeals. "Who are you?"

The man just stared at him for a second, surprise registering in his face. Duo waved his arms frantically and caught Heero's attention. 

He appeared as if he were unable to speak. The wide, surprised look in his eyes was odd - Heero decided that Duo looked even more unhinged than when Siren had destroyed Deathscythe. "What is it Duo?" he asked, "Is there something wrong?"

The braided pilot finally managed to spit out with a great deal of effort, "Don't shoot Strife, Heero! He saved you!"

Heero frowned and looked at the man in front of him. The surprised look had disappeared, replaced by a coldness in his face and green eyes that reminded Heero eerily of his own. But underneath…there was almost a look of reverence in those eyes. It was decidedly odd.

"You are Strife…?" he asked, slightly puzzled. It didn't seem quite right that the man with the blood red sword would _save_ him. 

The man nodded and said with a touch of awe, "Strife Mercury, Mr. Yuy. It's a pleasure." Strife then saluted him and sheathed his sword as a clear sign of respect. He slid it into its sheath smoothly and without looking, which had to have taken practice. 

Heero raised an eyebrow, not lowering his gun. Duo gaped. It was a strange turn of events, considering that Strife was obviously older than him. "Call me Heero," he replied a bit dismissively. "But since you apparently hold me in high esteem, do me a favor and tell me how you know my name," he added, with a slight bite to his words. This Strife was just a little too strange to be trusted…

"He's from another planet," answered Duo for him, obviously skeptical. "Like Siren."

Heero just looked at Strife, not believing it for a second. "It's true - Heero - I am from another planet, where you and the other Gundam pilots are extremely famous. You were my idol when I was a boy, and that's why I had to save you," the man said wryly, with a faint smile on his face.

Heero appraised him for a second and measured the sincerity he saw in Strife's eyes and voice. He recalled the look of awe, the salute, the man sheathing his sword, and how Duo had said that Strife had rescued him. Usually, he was never one to trust complete strangers, but this man - he had a strange feel about him, he almost radiated an aura of sincerity and friendship. _Follow your emotions…_

He gradually lowered the gun, but kept his eyes steadily on Strife, as if to fix him into place by doing so. "Alright. I suppose I can trust you, Strife," he said calmly. "I thank you for your help." 

Duo just stared at him, and then at the taller man, and scratched his head, confused. Strife looked at Heero, nodded slightly, and replied quietly, "Thank you."

He nodded back and then suddenly sensed that someone was behind him. Heero quickly rolled on the balls of his feet and raised his gun at the intruder. 

It was Quatre, turquoise eyes blinking dazedly at the barrel of Heero's gun. Trowa and Wufei flanked him. "Heero," Quatre said, obviously surprised, "you're - you're not injured anymore."

He could tell that Wufei and Trowa's usual stoicism was also shaken. _Was I really that hurt?_

"Strife saved him," Duo supplied helpfully, pointing to the dark-haired man standing next to him, who was eyeing the other Gundam pilots in awe.

There was immediately a tangible tension in the air when Duo mentioned Strife's name. Heero looked quickly at Quatre, and noticed his troubled, worried expression. "What's wrong?" he asked darkly, to no pilot in particular. He just wanted an answer. By the looks on his comrades' faces, and the furtive glances they shot each other, something was very, _very _wrong. 

Finally Wufei replied matter-of-factly, "Sally has just contacted me. Relena has been taken hostage by a woman named Aerowyn Silverlyle and a man called Virgil Trysten, who are armed with 'huge, glowing, swords.' They won't release her until we bring them a certain Strife Mercury." He glanced pointedly at Strife as he continued, "We thought it best to inform you as soon as possible."

Heero froze and felt his heart drop to the pit of his stomach as a strong, uncanny fear washed over him. "Relena…"

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Want to find out why Relena is being held hostage? What Aerowyn is doing on Earth? Who the hell is Virgil Trysten anyway? Well you'll find out in the next part! Oh, it might take me a bit because I'm on vacation and I don't get much time to write. If you want me to write faster, inspire me and email at Cutlass317@aol.com. 


	8. Part 8

The War of the Assassins ****

The War of the Assassins

Part 8

Relena was tired. So tired. She heard the soft thud of shoes on the floor, and opened her eyes with great effort to look dazedly around her. When she saw the woman with the golden hair and green eyes smirking at her, she immediately remembered that she had been taken hostage and was in an extremely dangerous situation.

Her arms were tied tightly behind her chair, and she could only see the woman's face by bending her neck back uncomfortably. Relena was vaguely aware of other people in the room - probably Noin and Sally since her brother was away - and saw a flash of flaming red hair from the corner of her eye. It was the man who had accompanied the woman inside her office a few minutes ago. Or was it hours ago? Her exhausted mind began to sluggishly churn. 

"Who are you…?" she asked the woman, voice slurred as if she were drunk. Relena shook her head to try to clear it. It ached dully, and felt heavy. And she couldn't remember how she had ended up tied to her chair and who the strangers were, though she could've sworn that they had said their names…

"You didn't hear me the first time?" replied the woman, annoyance flickering in her forest green eyes. "My name is Aerowyn Silverlye, Vice Foreign Minister, and you'd be better off if you remembered it." 

Aerowyn proceeded to glare balefully at Relena, as if she were extremely insulted that the younger woman couldn't remember her name, when she was _obviously_ so important. Relena could see the disapproving glances that Sally and Noin exchanged at the sight of the petty glare. But their postures was also extremely tense, and their faces anxious. What in the world were her colleagues so worried about? And why weren't they doing anything?

It was only then that Relena noticed the blazing green sword that Aerowyn was armed with and casually holding near her neck. She involuntarily gulped. It was just so _huge_. And it almost looked as if it were on fire - but no, that was impossible. It could certainly slice her open with very little effort though. Sally and Noin couldn't do a thing with her so helpless. 

But the foreboding sight of the sword did wake her up a little bit. "What do you want?" she demanded, trying to summon that authority that everyone said she possessed into her voice. Even her tongue felt sluggish. _What is wrong with me? Am I drugged?_

"Nothing from you," Aerowyn snapped. "You're just bait." The woman seemed antsy, and impatient, as if she were waiting for someone.

__

Bait? "Heero…" Relena murmured to herself, appalled. "You're going to use me as bait for Heero?" she added loudly, so that everyone could hear. She felt fully awake now - and angry. "Leave him alone! Why are you bothering us? What do you want from him?!" 

The man leaning against the corner of the wall with the red hair drawled lazily, "Well now, she's getting a little feisty there Aero. I think the Slumber spell is wearing off. Perhaps you should cast a new one…" 

__

Slumber spell? Relena thought to herself, confused. She could see that Sally and Noin were also puzzled. What in the world was he talking about? Could these strangers really cast spells? Relena carefully scrutinized the redhead and noticed that he too was armed with a large sword, sheathed and harnessed to his back. It was not a good situation... 

"Oh shut up Virgil! I know what I'm doing!" Aerowyn retorted, obviously annoyed. "Besides - I want our _precious_ princess awake so that she can see her beloved prince destroyed in exchange for her life." The mocking, acidic tone in her voice reminded the others vaguely of Dorothy, who was presently not in the Sanq Kingdom. 

Relena jerked at the threat, scraping her wrists painfully against the rough ropes. "No! Leave Heero out of this! What do you want to kill him for?!" she shouted, anguished. He would die for her, she knew it, but she could not possibly just sit and watch him. She would not allow it. She looked at Sally and Noin desperately, begging them with her eyes to help. Relena thought she saw something flicker deep within Sally's eyes. 

"Don't listen to them Relena," Sally suddenly spoke up before Aerowyn or Virgil could reply. "You were asleep when they said it but they don't want Heero at all. They want a man named Strife Mercury." 

Noin nodded fervently. "She's right, Miss Relena. Don't let them intimidate you."

Both intruders turned to glare at Sally and Noin, obviously annoyed. They looked steadily back, not a trace of fear in their eyes. Relena smiled at her courageous friends in immense relief. Heero was safe. Nothing else mattered.

Aerowyn abruptly turned back to face Relena and shrugged. "Heero is with Strife, I know that for sure," she said nonchalantly. "And he _will_ come for you - along with the other Gundam pilots. Ah…here they are now."

Before Relena could even ask how Aerowyn could possibly know, there was a sudden flash of brilliant red light and a roll of low thunder. She watched speechless and entranced as a thin crimson cut appeared in the air. 

******************

"Damnit!" Strife muttered, annoyed. What the hell did Aerowyn want from him now? Why in the world was she on Earth? He had dated her for almost a year after Odessa had disappeared, having still been under the Forget spell, and then she had ditched him for Virgil Trysten. And of course, she was the one who had chased off Odessa in the first place. If anyone should be holding a grudge, it should be him. And to use Relena as bait was a little excessive and roundabout, even for Aerowyn. _She must want something from me…_

He was so busy thinking that he didn't notice Heero coming towards him until it was too late. Strife felt the cold metal of the barrel of Heero's gun on his temple. If it had been anyone else threatening him, Strife would have immediately sliced him in two before he could even pull the trigger. But with the assailant being Heero, he froze, careful not to make any sudden movements. 

The Gundam pilot's expression was one of deadly anger, and Strife saw the deep crimson color of his previously dark blue aura (he had noticed that it was the exact same color as his earlier with shock) and flinched. Heero was _angry, _and afraid for Relena, and he believed it to be all Strife's fault, which was partly true. 

"Tell me everything you know about the people holding Relena hostage. Is this of your doing?" Heero demanded, his voice dark and deadly. "Why do they want you? And why Relena?" His whole body was trembling with the force of his anger and anxiety.

Strife was careful not to move a muscle and to sound as calm as possible. It would not be good to upset Heero even more than he already was. The other pilots were just as suspicious and angry - even Duo - and tempestuous red auras surrounded him. He felt Rag gradually wake up at the sight; she was hungry and itching to Fuse. "_Not now,_" he commanded, willing her to go to sleep again. 

"Heero," he began quietly, hoping to soothe him. "Aerowyn and Virgil are two Assassins that I trained with. I am not their ally, nor did I suspect that they would hold Relena hostage. Aerowyn probably wants me to do something for her, and has taken Relena hostage knowing that I would have to come to her, for your sake if nothing else." Heero's eyes widened slightly at that - Strife could tell that the pilot still didn't really believe that he was his idol. He sighed a little to himself as he continued wearily, "She will not kill Relena, because if she did, I would not have any reason to obey her." Heero relaxed minutely at that, and Strife concluded, "I don't know what Aerowyn is doing here on Earth, or why Virgil is here at all; I suppose we shall find out soon enough. But one thing is sure: I am not your enemy."

Heero stared at him for a few moments, weighing him, and Strife realized that since they had the same auras they shared a peculiar sort of bond, and so Heero could read him and understand him in a way that the other Gundam pilots couldn't. Strife gazed steadily back at him, and hoped that his sincerity showed and that Heero could see it. It was almost ironic that he would have to earn the pilot's trust all over again; he had already been thoroughly scrutinized by him just a few minutes ago. 

Strife felt horrid - the last thing he had wanted to do was hurt his childhood hero. And Relena didn't deserve to be taken hostage; she was really not part of the situation at all. It was all his fault - 

He suddenly felt the barrel of Heero's gun lift from his head. Strife turned slowly to look at the pilot. Heero's face was still stony, but his crimson aura was gradually fading back to that all too familiar dark blue. He breathed a sigh of relief. _He believes me…_

"I believe you," Heero said eventually, but a slight bemusement in his eyes indicated that he didn't really know why. "But if you betray us or harm Relena in any way - I'll destroy you," he finished coldly.

Strife nodded, knowing that Heero was perfectly capable of doing so, even though he was armed with Ragnarok and magic. Relena meant more to the pilot than his own life, and he would exact brutal vengeance on anyone who dared harmed her in any way. Acknowledging this, the Assassin then turned to see how the other pilots reacted to Heero's statements. 

Duo's aura was a bright, happy yellow again. Strife supposed that the pilot trusted him because he had saved him, and that it was his nature to be friendly. Though now that he looked closer, he could see some dark undertones in Duo's aura. The braided pilot was obviously struggling with some inner conflict and was not quite as happy-go-lucky as he might seem…

The blonde pilot's reddish aura had completely reverted back to the pure white that it had been when Strife had first seen him. The boy was too kind to hold grudges or be suspicious for too long, and his aura reflected that. He also seemed to sense that Strife was not an enemy, though through his own emotions or through the ones that Strife radiated, he did not know. The look in his turquoise eyes as Strife caught his gaze was soft, and trusting. The boy had to be Gundam pilot 04, Quatre Raberba Winner. 

The man to the right of him had a distinctive hairstyle, half of his brown hair covering his face. Strife recognized him as Trowa Barton. Trowa's dark green, contemplative, analytical aura that reminded him of Aerowyn's had the smallest hint of red at its edges. Whatever suspicions or anger Trowa had possessed had faded quickly away or was masked extremely well. Strife took a hard look at the pilot's face and found that he could not read it. It was indifferent, unfeeling, cold - essentially dead. So were his green eyes. The only way he could tell that Trowa trusted him was through one or two warm orange-red swirls in his aura. Strife could see that somehow, Trowa could also sense that he meant no harm, or perhaps it was just because the quiet pilot was perceptive and analytical. 

The man to the left of Quatre was what Earthlings called Asian - apparently of Chinese descent - so he had to be Wufei Chang. Strife noted with little surprise that Wufei's aura was still a dark, stormy red, since he obviously did not trust him. Wait - was red the _natural_ color of Wufei's aura? Yes, Strife could see the deep scarlet color comprised of the different hues of impatience, anger, stubbornness and pride in the Chinese pilot's aura. He made a mental note to himself to try not to get on the warrior's bad side, though it looked as if it were a little too late for that. 

Wufei's next statements confirmed Strife's suspicions. "So you want us to trust _him_? Armed with that evil sword?" he asked Heero unbelievingly. "I thought you were more honorable than to associate with an _Assassin_," he spat scathingly, crossing his arms and eyeing the said Assassin with scorn. Assassins were obviously not considered as 'honorable' people in his eyes. 

Strife did not reply, instead, he shot Heero a meaningful glance. Heero nodded almost imperceptibly and replied icily, "I don't care if you trust him or not, but the fact is, we need him to get Relena back. And neither my honor nor his has any weight in this mission. I trust him, and have faith in his skills. That should be enough."

It was obvious that Wufei didn't and wouldn't like or trust Strife no matter what Heero said, but he respected Heero and saw the truth in his statement. The fact that he just 'got told' by the most intimidating man alive helped too. "All right," he said grudgingly. 

"Good. Does anyone else have any objections?" Heero added, with a threatening undertone in his voice and a glare directed at each pilot in turn. 

The other pilots shook their heads mutely in unison. Strife felt like laughing in wonder - after all, The Perfect Soldier was _defending_ him - but decided against it. 

He suddenly found unnerving, intense Prussian blue eyes gazing fixedly into his own. "Yes, Heero?" Strife asked, knowing that the pilot wanted something from him. 

"You know magic," Heero said. It was not a question.

Strife nodded slowly. "I am a Blade Mage Assassin - it is in my profession to wield magic. And that is how I cleansed the wound on your back."

The other pilots turned to stare at the said wound, and Strife heard a few gasps of surprise at its sheer size. But he knew that they would not see any black pus seeping out of it. It was just a regular cut now that was already scabbing over thanks to his healing spell. 

Duo noticed the difference. "There's no more of that black stuff…" he trailed off, puzzled, his brows furrowed. "So I wasn't just seeing things," he muttered to himself. 

"That's not what I was talking about," Heero spoke up before the other pilots could start asking about his wound. He was obviously agitated, and itching to go to Relena. "I want to know if you can get us to the Preventors' Headquarters in the Sanq Kingdom immediately so we can rescue Relena."

Strife frowned. "I can, but there is no need to 'rescue' her. They will not kill her as long as I do whatever Aerowyn wants of me." 

"And what if it is something that you cannot do?" Heero asked darkly. 

He shook his head and said firmly, "Whatever it is, I will do it. But if Aerowyn and Virgil go back on their word - which I highly doubt, since Assassins do not break promises - I'll Slice her and you Gundam pilots out of there and we will fight it out then and there."

"Not very good odds," Trowa said contemplatively, speaking for the first time. 

"You might lose against two Assassins if you fight them by yourself," Quatre added worriedly. The pilot was already starting to feel compassion for him…

Strife ignored them. It didn't matter that he would die if he fought both Aerowyn and Virgil at once. He would not let anymore innocent people get hurt because of him. Especially Relena Darilan or any of the Gundam pilots. 

"Did you er…'slice' here or sumthin'?" Duo asked, more confused than ever. But it was clear that the braided pilot remembered the red cut in the air that Strife had apparently stepped through. 

Heero shot Duo a piercing glance, "What are you talking about?" He had been unconscious when Strife arrived. 

Strife smiled faintly and then said matter-of-factly, "Your friend is right, Heero. I traveled to Earth by Slicing, or what you would probably call teleporting, and I can Slice right into the room Relena is being held hostage in." He waited for the skeptical reply he was sure to receive. 

Wufei snorted, and everyone else just stared. 

"If this is true, is it possible for us to come with you?" Heero asked, getting over his shock the quickest, which did not surprise Strife in the least. They really were much alike. 

"Yes," he replied. "In fact, I can show you right now…" and with that, he drew Ragnarok. The familiar feeling of fiery power rushing through his veins greeted him. The pilots instinctively drew back from the huge, blazing sword that looked even more impressive up close. He even heard a few gasps of awe - or from fear, he couldn't tell. 

"**_What the hell was so important to FORCE me to go to sleep huh?! You haven't done that in years and I DON'T plan on letting you do it again!_**" crowed a furiously indignant Rag. The flame (i.e. aura) surrounding her blade pulsed with a darker light then usual. She was obviously very annoyed and very angry, if for a petty reason. 

Strife cringed a little, remembering the various nasty things that had happened to him the last time Rag had gotten this angry. He replied quietly, trying to soothe her, "_You know that I couldn't possibly let you Fuse with any of the Gundam pilots so just calm down. We have a princess to rescue, see for yourself._"

He felt the equivalent of a question mark in his mind and then that strange, uncomfortable feeling of Rag rifting through his brain to obtain his memories. When she was done, she was not much happier. In fact, seemed even _angrier_, if that was indeed possible. Strife cursed to himself for making such a stupid mistake as she began her tirade. "**_Who the hell does that Asian punk think he is anyway, calling me evil?! NO ONE insults me and gets away with it - I'll show him just what 'that evil sword' can do, damn it!_**" Rag fumed, furious. Her aura suddenly flared up ferociously, singeing the said 'Asian punk.' Wufei glared at her and started to curse ferociously in Chinese, obviously angry. The other pilots began to back slowly away - even Heero looked a little nonplussed.

Strife stopped kicking himself and quickly thought up a plan of action. When Rag became this angry, there was only one thing to do. Fight fire with fire."_Will you shut the hell up already? You know that Wufei is just like that, with his overgeneralizations and all. Killing him is not going to do us any good. So just shut your trap and behave!_" he commanded, keeping his 'voice' low and summoning into it all the authoritative and threatening tone he could muster. If that wasn't enough, he added some choice insults in Lothosan, some of them so crude that they would have made even his Head Trainer blush.

"Who are you talkin' to?" asked a bemused Duo, eyes wide and scratching his head. Rag started laughing hysterically as Strife realized too late that he had insulted her out loud without quite realizing it. The other pilots just blinked, obviously confused. 

Her aura had changed back to it's normal red and she sounded almost jolly as Rag remarked sarcastically, "**_Well that was IMPRESSIVE, Strife. I didn't even know that you knew so many curse words in Lothosan - and from the looks of it, neither do they._**" With that, she started laughing again. 

Strife scowled at her, and then at the blank faces of the Gundam pilots. "My sword," he replied succinctly to Duo. Faintly blushing under their collective stare, he abruptly turned around and started to untangle the necessary Threads, pointedly ignoring Rag's hyena-like laughter. 

****************

Heero watched in thinly masked impatience as Strife made a few quick movements in the air with his blazing crimson sword. Just what was this guy doing anyway? He had thought that he had somehow felt that he could trust this man, that Strife was kind, sincere, compassionate, and brave under his apparently unfeeling manner. He had almost felt that he and the Assassin shared some kind of connection, like he could empathize with him or something. 

But what had trusting him and defending him led to? Cutting the air and talking to his sword! How absolutely absurd and pointless! Heero was annoyed, and he was only rarely annoyed, but Relena was in danger and it was Strife's fault - no, it was _his_ fault. He should have been there to protect her. Who knows what kind of situation she was in now, or what condition she was in. What if she was being tortured? Or already dead? It would be his fault. His fault if she was dead or died. The very thought froze his heart. Heero scowled and started to pace, to rid himself of such morbid thoughts. He had a mission to accomplish and had no room for such things in his mind. But God how he worried - he would never forgive himself if something happened to her. He loved her too much. 

A roll of thunder and a flash of blinding red light interrupted his disturbing train of thought. Heero watched in utter amazement as a thin crimson cut appeared in the air. _What the hell?_ Before anyone could say or do anything, Strife plunged his blazing sword into the cut and pulled it to the side and down, making it large enough for a man to step through.

And there she was, floating in the air, as beautiful as ever, with her golden hair disheveled and strewn wildly about her face, her ocean blue eyes wide with astonishment and fear, and her arms tied roughly behind her chair. A blazing green sword was held perilously close to her smooth, pale neck and the very sight of it sent Heero into something very akin to rage. No one was allowed to threaten Relena like that. Not while he was still alive. 

So without thinking twice he ran full speed towards the Slice and dived through it, flinching as one of its fiery edges singed his arm. But he ignored the already blistering wound and rolled to his feet as soon as he hit the ground. In no time at all he had torn off the rope binding Relena and she was in his arms, his body shielding her from a tall woman holding the sword. From the corner of his eye he saw Sally and Noin snap to attention and draw their weapons. Strife and the other pilots were still on the other side of the Slice, shocked speechless at his sheer speed. He heard the metallic hiss of a sword being unsheathed in the room. But at that moment nothing mattered to him except the trembling girl in his arms. The look in Relena's eyes she gazed up at him was filled with such deep, profound love that Heero wanted nothing more than to stare at those liquid blue eyes for all eternity. 

"Heero..." Relena breathed, sounding both relieved and worried at the same time. "How did you - you shouldn't be here - it's a trap they know magic they'll destroy you - you should leave," she said in a hurried rush. The anguished expression on her face pained him. 

He gently stroked her smooth cheek to try to soothe her. "I know. I don't care," he said calmly. "I won't leave you, Relena." He smiled at her reassuringly, hoping that it was enough. 

It apparently was, for she stopped trembling and smiled warmly back. "I know," she replied quietly. They looked at each other silently, basking in the other's presence, lost in their own safe world. 

"How sweet," remarked the tall woman sarcastically, leaning on her huge broadsword. "I think they deserve a round of applause, don't you, Virgil?"

Heero looked sharply about him as the feeling of safety and comfort abruptly dissipated. He observed that the two strangers were both armed with magical swords, roughly the same size and shape as Strife's, but with different colors. Virgil had to be the man with the bright red hair and ice blue eyes, armed with a sword burning with the same glacial blue color. He replied to his comrade's question by clapping loudly and slowly, with an air of heavy irony. "Is that adequate, Aero?" he asked with a vaguely insolent tone of voice and a mischeivous gleam in his icy eyes. 

Relena straightened and stared the redhead right in the eye. "What do you want from us?" she demanded fiercely. 

Virgil leered at her. "Nothing from _him_, but _you_ have a lot to offer," he drawled, obviously appraising her, with desire shining brightly in his clear eyes. Heero felt Relena stiffen in his arms, embarrassed and disgusted. He immediately decided that he didn't like Virgil and so shot him a warning glare. He would rather die than see Relena being touched by _him_. The woman called Aerowyn smiled wryly, as if reading his thoughts, not looking jealous or insulted in the least. Heero noted this with some curiosity, for he had thought that she and Virgil were a couple...

A sudden glint of metallic light reflected off the barrel of a gun caught Heero's eye. He noticed with a start that Sally and Noin were a few paces away from the redhead, still holding their guns, stiff posture and unblinking eyes indicating that they were paralyzed. _Damnit._ From the looks of it, he needed some help, and badly. 

At that thought, there was a sudden flash of crimson light. Heero whirled to look behind him, shielding Relena. And there they were, the rest of the pilots, Duo still carrying the Zero System helmet. Strife was with them too, his sword blazing fiercely and held ready for combat. 

"And so we meet again, Aerowyn," the Assassin said darkly. Heero noticed with some surprise that Strife was now much more intimidating and foreboding than before, almost radiating power. His emerald green eyes held a deadly, fierce look and his sword was burning more brightly, now with a blood red color. The man was dangerous - Heero could see that clearly now. 

Relena was shocked by the sudden appearance of the Gundam pilots and yet another stranger with a sword. "Heero, what is going on here?" she asked him, eyeing Strife warily. 

The woman called Aerowyn spoke up before he could reply. "It's about time that you showed up, Strife," she said, sounding annoyed. She then scrutinized the Assassin before she spoke again, "From the look of your aura, it seems as if you have finally remembered what I have done to you." She shrugged and added, "No big loss."

Strife bristled perceptibly but before he could even make a move, Aerowyn shouted, "Now, Virgil!" and the other man raised his sword and slashed it downwards. Before Heero even knew what was really happening, a ball of pale blue light smashed into him. A feeling of sharp, immeasurable cold washed over him - it felt like he had jumped naked into a bucket of ice - and he watched with horror as ice coated his body. He couldn't move... 

"Heero!" Relena cried in alarm, trying in vain to tear the ice off his body. The other pilots ran to him and tried to help, but it didn't work. Whenever they managed to rip off a patch, another clump of even thicker ice immediately replaced it. Strife did not move to help, instead he stayed rooted to his spot, motionless. What was he doing? He most likely had the power to save him, but he had not yet done a thing when each second counted. _He betrayed us, _Heero thought bitterly through the pain of being frozen alive. _We will all be destroyed because I trusted that man. _

"_Stop it!_" Relena cried to Virgil in anguish. "You're going to kill him!" He didn't stop. Ice filled Heero's mouth and his nose so that he couldn't breathe. So cold - all he wanted to do was sleep. He was vaguely aware of Relena pounding the thick layer of ice surrounding his body in frustration and sheer desperation. "Heero - you can't die! _Heero!_" she shouted in between tears. He hated to see her like this - he had to do something to alleviate her pain. Heero tried desperately to move his hand towards hers, to move anything, but try as he might, he just couldn't manage it. Relena abruptly stopped punching the ice, as if realizing only then that it was futile. Her knuckles and fingertips bleeding, she outstretched a slender hand to place over his frozen lips. "I love you, Heero," she whispered, her ocean blue eyes shining with tears and infinite sorrow.

The agonizing poignancy of her actions and words just about killed him. With his last few moments of consciousness, he tried to communicate with his eyes how much he loved her and how sorry he was that he caused her such pain. Once again, it was his fault. 

The last thing Heero heard before he became unconscious was the sound of Relena calling his name in between her tormented sobs. 

******************

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Yeah yeah, I know, that was sappy. Ah well, I'm a HXR fan and I thought it was about time that they had some poignant moments together. Anyhow, is Heero going to die? What's Strife doing just sitting there? Has he really betrayed the Gundam pilots? What do Aerowyn and Virgil want from him anyway? Has Diablo found out where the Preventors are headquartered yet? To find out, read the next part! Email me!! [Cutlass317@aol.com][1]

__ __

   [1]: mailto:Cutlass317@aol.com



	9. Part 9

AN: Hey if you're confused while reading this, * _italics _* indicates a flashback. 

****

The War of the Assassins

Part 9

Strife gazed transfixed at Relena Darilan as she tried fruitlessly to save her beloved and all he could see was _his_ love, Odessa. Relena had the exact same aura as her - that pure, kind, peaceful sky blue. It was decidedly eerie. Heero had the same aura as him, and Relena had the same one as Odessa. No wonder they had gotten together. It was almost like Heero and Relena were just parallel copies of him and Odessa and they were all meant to fall in love. 

Lost in a golden haze of memories, Strife was completely entranced by the blonde girl and her sorrowful beauty, seeing a vision of Odessa with tear-filled violet eyes in her place. The sight of that beloved aura again triggered so many vivid memories that he suddenly found himself holding Odessa in his arms and hearing her musical voice say that she loved him. 

"**_Damn it Strife, snap out of it! Heero's going to die if you don't do something soon!_**" Rag suddenly barked at him, succeeding in snapping him out of his hypnotic reverie. 

Strife shook his head as the world came back into focus and then cursed furiously as he realized the severity of the situation. The previous not-so-dangerous hostage situation had been totally ruined by Heero and his hasty actions. Strife had never expected that the pilot would act so quickly and recklessly, and now Heero had to pay for following his heart and not his head. He was completely frozen, and his aura was fading fast. Relena was sobbing wretchedly at his feet, inconsolable. Trowa and Wufei were numb with complete shock and Quatre was trying in vain to comfort Relena, tears streaming down his face. Duo stood aside from the rest of them, staring into nothing with a frighteningly vacant look in his usually expressive eyes. It was obvious that he was in shock and trying to deny the whole situation. He fingered the Zero System helmet carefully in his hands as if it were a precious gem, the last remnant of Heero Yuy.

Strife wasted no more time and immediately raised Ragnarok to throw a Warmth spell at the frozen Gundam pilot. He was stopped by the sound of Virgil's arrogant voice. "I wouldn't, Strife," the redhead warned, his Blade pulsing with icy blue fire. "One false move and I'll implode Mr. Yuy into a thousand frozen pieces." He then started laughing maniacally as if he relished the gruesome thought. 

"**_Damn it!_**" Rag cursed, annoyed. She had never liked Virgil. Well then again, neither had Strife.

Instead of wasting his time with Virgil though, he went directly to the source of the problem. "What do you want from me Aerowyn?" he spat, glaring darkly at the golden haired woman watching Sally Po and Lucrezia Noin. Heero only had a few minutes before he suffered from permanent brain damage and became impossible to revive - he just didn't have the time to play any games.

"Oh nothing..." Aerowyn replied off-handedly, gazing steadily back at Strife, forest green eyes filled with dry amusement. She knew that she was in control of the situation, and it was obvious that she was just stalling for time to piss him off and make him reckless. 

And it was working. Strife felt Heero slip even further as he snapped angrily, "Just _tell_ me!" 

"Now, now, no need to lose your temper, Strife," Aerowyn chastised playfully, twirling a strand of her golden hair around her finger. "Just swear by the _Daeminstirul _that you will destroy whom I tell you to and I swear by my Blade that the boy will go free," she added seriously, her voice and eyes hardening with the weight of her proposal. 

Strife blanched. "_Daeminstirul..._" he breathed, shocked. _Daeminstirul_ was the ancient Lothosan word for "code". It now meant the Assassin's Code that every Assassin honored, and if he broke an oath to it, he would be publicly forbidden to hold a job as an Assassin, hunted after mercilessly by his former peers, stripped of his Blade and then ultimately killed. It was the absolute dishonor to break an oath to the _Daeminstirul_, and the unfortunate Assassin who did was even more hated than one who broke an oath to their Blade. 

"**_No Strife, you can't possibly swear by the Daeminstirul to eliminate someone of Aerowyn's choosing. Do you think that she would make you do it if the target isn't the one person that you can't possibly kill?_**" Rag asked forcefully. "**_Think about it - she wants you to destroy Odessa!_**"

__

Odessa. Strife flinched. She was right. She was always right. His head reeled with the sudden realization of the whole reason why Aerowyn was on Earth in the first place. She had probably been hired by the Baron to make sure that he completed his job, and she was smart enough to know that he wasn't capable of doing it without being forced into it by an oath sworn to the _Daeminstirul_. The only person he could not possibly eliminate in the whole Universe was Odessa. But then Heero would die - but he couldn't just kill Odessa outright. "_I can't possibly do it Rag...I just CAN'T,_" he said to her, his voice breaking in a sudden swell of emotion and frustration. "_Not Odessa..._" 

But what about Heero? His idol, his role model, the greatest hero of all time - he couldn't just forsake him. Heero was practically _him_ - how could he just stand there and watch him die? But there was no avoiding the truth. He had to choose who would die. Odessa or Heero. "Oh _God -_ Rag..._help me_..." Strife begged desperately, speaking out loud, so horrendously conflicted that he felt faint and he didn't give a damn who heard him. Aerowyn glanced sharply at him, her eyes narrowing as she scrutinized his aura. She was going to find out something was wrong soon enough. 

"**_Strife, get a hold of yourself - Aerowyn, she's going to find out that you know-_**"

"So...having second thoughts now are we?" Aerowyn purred sweetly. _Shit. _Strife gave her his best imitation of Heero's death glare as a reply and hoped it was enough. It wasn't. 

She sighed dramatically, rolled her eyes in mock exasperation at his glare and then remarked contemplatively, "I'm really making it quite easy for you Strife, but I should've known that you were indecisive. I think this will help you out-" She chopped off the end of her sentence and nodded to Virgil. He grinned as he sliced his Blade diagonally through the air.

Strife felt like throwing up when he heard a sickening _crack_ snap through the air. He watched in horror as hairline fissures appeared in the ice encasing Heero's body_. They're going to make him shatter-_

Relena and the Gundam pilots stared at Heero dazedly, not fully comprehending what was happening. Cracks in the ice crawled slowly from his shoes to his head and then branched out, silver lines interlacing and tangling like Threads. _I have to DO something-_

"You're running out of time," Aerowyn offered helpfully, looking thoughtfully at Heero. "Right now, you can still save him but a few more cracks and-" she shrugged helplessly "I'm afraid your idol will shatter beyond repair."

"God damn you Aerowyn," Strife said between clenched teeth, furious. 

**__**

Crack. 

* He was six years old and watching a movie featuring the Gundam pilots, absolutely entranced by the fearless, strong, invincible Heero Yuy, promising himself that he would grow up to be just like him... *

"STOP IT!" 

* _Odessa was dumping sand onto his wet body to get him back for pushing her into the water. He was chasing her around the beach in mock fury and realizing that he really did love her... *_

"**_Strife, he's going to break!_**" 

**__**

Crack. 

No, I'm going to break, Rag.

"_I SAID_ _STOP_!" 

**__**

Crack.

Odessa. Heero. Odessa. Heero.

"LEAVE HIM ALONE!" 

__

* "I have always loved you, Strife."*

* "I trust him, and have faith in his skills."*

****

Crack.

Strife roared in desperation and frustration as the world swam dizzily around him, closing his eyes, crumbling to his knees and clutching his head tight between his hands, trying to block out that horrible, horrible sound. _Too much. _He couldn't think. Futility and stress suffocated him until he could neither see nor hear nor feel. And unbearable pressure constricted his heart and lungs and he couldn't breathe. He wanted to faint. He was going to either break or become mad. He couldn't do it. He couldn't decide. "_Stop_..." he choked out weakly to no one in particular as more and more cracks covered Heero's body. 

"You're cutting it awfully close, Strife. You have to decide _now_," Aerowyn commanded, eyeing his crumpled body with a sort of sick pleasure. 

He didn't even hear her. 

"Rag - help - please...I don't - I _can't_..._Rag_," he stammered helplessly, begging his Blade for some kind of answer and trying frantically to ignore Relena's desperate cries for Virgil to stop and her unbearable, crushing sorrow. This was just too much for her. He knew that she was going to break if Heero shattered right in front of her. 

He couldn't _breathe_. 

"**_This isn't my decision to make,_**" answered Rag stiffly, her aura dimming to a dark blood red. Strife stared at his Blade in complete incomprehension as a dreadful feeling of betrayal washed over him. _She's not going to help-_

"_Ragnarok_..." he whispered brokenly, crushed. 

**__**

Crack. 

A horrible, delicate, tinkling noise that sounded like glass breaking into a thousand pieces filled the air. Heero was beginning to shatter...

Odessa or Heero.

He didn't even have a choice now.

His mind splintered into useless shards of glass. Of ice. 

Something snapped deep within him. His eyes flashed open and he abruptly flowed up to his feet, raised his Blade and prepared to cast a spell. He felt no answering warmth from Rag, which was strange, but it did not matter. He had made his decision. 

"_I swear by the Daeminstirul to destroy whom you tell me to!!_" he shouted at the top of his lungs as he simultaneously flung a hasty Heal spell towards Heero. A green ball of light and an ice blue one smashed into the frozen boy immediately afterwards.

*********************

Heero was cold. So cold. He was somewhere infinitely dark and shapeless and the only thing he was aware of was the unbearable coldness. The loneliness. He was trapped in black misery. 

__

So this is what it is like to be dead. 

There was a sudden flash of red light, and then green and blue. Heavenly warmth surrounded him, bathed him in its soothing glory. He sighed in bliss as the deadly coldness shrunk in fear at the warmth and melted away. The warmth was beautiful. It spread all the way from his toes to the tips of his hair. He felt blood begin to pump through his veins again, circulating through his limbs and calling them to life. He first gingerly moved one finger, and then another, and then his whole right arm. He could _move _again. The feeling was wondrous. 

Someone was cradling him tenderly, and calling his name. His eyelids no longer felt quite so heavy and so he tried to open them, and found to his happy surprise that it was rather easy. Two pools of ocean-blue light met his gaze.

"Relena..." Heero breathed, shocked. "I'm_ alive..."_

"Heero..." Relena murmured, sounding happy and more relieved than he had ever heard her sound before. Her face was red and puffy from crying, and tears of joy streamed down her face. Heero tenderly wiped them away with the back of his hand and gently caressed her cheek. 

Relena smiled faintly, and then pulled him up and hugged him tightly as if to make sure that he were really there. "Heero - you were - you were..." she stammered unsteadily into his shoulder, unable to finish her sentence. 

"I know. All you all right?" he asked gently, stroking her hair and marveling at its softness. She nodded mutely and wrapped her arms around his waist. They stayed like that for a few quiet moments, comforting each other with the mere fact that they were together. He then gingerly pulled away and looked her in the eye. "Why am I still alive?" he asked her seriously. 

"Hey, Heero buddy!" called Duo, slapping him boisterously on the back. "That was pretty impressive, surviving all of that! I really thought for a moment there that you were going to bite the dust!"

Heero laughed and looked carefully at Duo. He saw with some surprise that the God of Death had been crying. _So he really does care. _"Nice to see you too, Duo," he replied almost cheerfully. It was good to be alive. "But who saved me?"

"It was that Assassin, Strife," Quatre supplied helpfully, walking into the group with Trowa, Wufei, Sally, and Noin. "It's good to see that you're all right, Heero," he added warmly. Quatre had been crying too, but Trowa and Wufei were their usually stoic selves. Sally and Noin were probably freshly unparalyzed, and looked pretty dazed. 

Heero furrowed his brows. _Strife?_ "So he didn't betray us after all..." he said thoughtfully to no one in particular. 

Relena looked up at him, puzzled. "What do you mean, Heero?"

He shook his head and replied dismissively, "Nothing."

"I had my doubts about him too," Wufei spoke up, sounding a little belligerent. "But he _did_ save you with that magic of his," he added grudgingly.

"And us," said Sally and Noin in unison. They looked at each other and burst out laughing.

"Yes, but apparently at a great price," Trowa remarked quietly once they had calmed down, staring intensely at Heero. "He didn't look too happy afterwards, and left with that woman and red-haired man. It seems like he's going to be forced to kill someone close to him in exchange for your life."

Heero blanched. He'd never expect Strife to sacrifice someone for him. He still didn't quite believe that he meant that much to him. "What happened?" he demanded yet again, thoroughly confused.

The other Gundam pilots and Relena exchanged quick glances with each other, and proceeded to fill him in on what occurred when he was unconscious.

Heero's expression grew gradually more grim as the story progressed. When it was over he said determinedly, "I have to go find him. This is my fault."

"Heero," Relena started, sounding worried. "It was _his_ decision - how can you blame yourself for it?"

Heero grimaced. It was obvious that she didn't want him to go anywhere now that he had almost died. "Relena, this is just something I have to do," he said forcefully, but not meanly. "He sacrificed someone for me and the very least I can do is apologize for being so reckless and thank him." _I should've waited for him_, Heero thought ruefully. But he had just snapped when he saw Relena in danger...

She frowned and her expression turned hard. "Heero, it's too dangerous!" she protested angrily. "I just about lost you back there and I'm not about to let you go hunt down some Assassin associating with the people who almost _killed_ you!"

"_Relena_..." Heero practically groaned, frustrated. She didn't understand. He and Strife shared a strange sort of connection and the fact that the Assassin had sacrificed someone for him just strengthened that bond. He had to go find him and help him...somehow...

"Maybe you should listen to Relena, Heero," Quatre said a little dubiously. 

"No," Heero replied outright, surprising the blonde pilot. "You don't understand. None of you understand," he snarled, angry and annoyed. "I have to do this and none of you are going to stop me." He sighed as he saw the shocked looks surrounding him. He knew he sounded like The Perfect Soldier again but his instincts were screaming for him to go find Strife. "Look," he said a little more gently when he saw the determined glint in Relena's eyes. "The people with him won't hurt me now that Strife has joined up with them. I don't know how I know but I just - _do_. Please..._trust me_," he practically begged. 

Relena's eyes gradually softened as she heard the frantic desperation in his voice. "I believe in you Heero..." she said quietly and then gently pulled his face down for a kiss.

When she pulled away Heero took a look around the room and was relieved to find that no one had any objections. They all trusted him and more importantly, they had faith in Relena's judgement. 

"Just come back to me," Relena said softly, her head pressed against his chest. 

Heero looked down at her fondly and put an arm protectively around her shoulders. "I will," he replied, determination hardening his voice. 

"Do ya want us to come with you, Heero?" asked Duo cheerfully, already prepared for another adventure.

"No," Trowa replied for him, surprising everyone. "I think this is something that Heero has to handle for himself," he said in his usual quiet, analytical manner.

Heero smiled gratefully at Trowa. They understood each other. 

"All right," said Duo resignedly. "Man, why do you always have to have all the fun?" he whined, sounding for all the world like a disappointed six year old. 

"Shut up, Maxwell," Wufei snapped, annoyed. 

Heero laughed and soon everyone else joined him, even Trowa. They were mainly laughing to release tension and not specifically at Duo, but he took it personally and continually asked what was so funny, which of course made them all laugh even harder.

When he finally regained control of himself, Heero gave Relena one last hug and turned to leave, giving a clipped 'goodbye'. He wasn't really one for teary farewells and it wasn't like it was the last time that he was going to see them. 

But then again, he wasn't so sure about that.

********************

Strife scowled darkly as he stalked out of the Preventor's HQ, flanked by Virgil and Aerowyn. They had already given him his assignment to destroy Odessa and he had surprised Virgil by not reacting much. Aerowyn hadn't even blinked at his apparent stoicism. He had to give her something - she was intelligent. She had sensed from his aura that he already knew whom it was that he had to destroy and was accordingly prepared with biting insults.

"I never thought that you leaned towards little boys, Strife," she taunted maliciously. "To think that you would choose Heero as your new pet over your _beloved_ Odessa - why I'd never expect it from _you_." Her voice was practically dripping with sarcasm and insinuations.

He didn't even bother to reply. She knew that his sexual orientation had nothing to do with saving Heero and she was just trying to goad him into some sort of reaction. Virgil for once did not say anything but merely stared straight ahead of him, ice blue eyes hard. Strife scrutinized his aura and found to his surprise that the redhead was _jealous_ - he didn't like Aerowyn giving _any_ sort of attention to another man. 

They walked on in a stretch of uncomfortable silence towards the Meadow, which was actually relatively close to the Sanq Kingdom. The three of them had never even been allies, much less friends. They only tolerated each other now because they were on an assignment. If they had met in any other situation, Strife would have been trying his best to destroy the both of them and vice versa. The tension stretched between them like a rubber band, and it was eventually going to snap. But when it did, he would be ready. He was always ready. 

It was quiet outside. It was a brisk, clear autumn day with sunshine and not a cloud in the sky, but there was a biting cold wind that knifed through all layers of clothing, no matter how thick. The civilians were obviously not used to it and stayed indoors. Strife rather enjoyed the weather. He was used to the cold. 

Rag was strangely quiet. Strife had yet to find out what was wrong with her but for now he let her sleep. Whatever it was she was upset about, he would find out eventually.

Strife himself was well - _empty_. He felt dull and spent and above all exhausted. He wasn't thinking past the moment because to do so would be too painful and would break his fragile resolve. He had gone through one difficult choice and now he was presented with another. He _knew_ that he couldn't destroy Odessa, _Daeminstirul _or no, but he had to hide it from the others to protect himself. Because if they knew...he could hardly even bear to think past that thought. Immediately designated as a Soulless Blade, or an outlaw, they would turn on him and destroy him. But first they would take Ragnarok away from him. 

Strife shut his eyes tightly at the thought as if it would help him shut away the sharp heartache that accompanied it. _Rag..._ Without her, he wasn't complete. She wasn't just a sword; she was a part of him. She was his feisty, funny, sardonic, indomitable Rag. It had taken him six years to realize that she was his one and only Soul and that he loved her. But his love for her was different than his love for Odessa. 

Strife realized with numbing shock that when he weighed the two, Odessa was more important to him. Perhaps Rag knew that and that was why she was upset with him. But...it was true. Rag was the embodiment of his lifestyle as an Assassin. He could give up his career and his magic and even his Soul but he would need Odessa there for him to do so. She was the ultimate goal, the promise of a life filled with happiness and peace and Rag was the promise of a life filled with pain and bloodshed. It was the honest truth. No matter how pure his love for Rag was, she was still a merciless instrument of death and would always be one. If he chose her, he would never be able to stop killing and quit his profession as an Assassin. Once, it was the only thing he wanted to do. Now all he wanted was some peace.

Ragnarok would be the ultimate sacrifice.

The thought made him sick to his stomach. He didn't want Rag to be a sacrifice for Odessa. He wanted them both, but even as he thought so he knew that it was impossible to have both of them and be truly happy. _But God...Rag...how can I possibly give her up?_

Not like he had much of a choice in the matter. He couldn't kill Odessa, period. But it helped a little to know that when Rag was inevitably stripped from him, in the long run, losing her would the best thing for him. _Not like that makes it any less painful._

And of course there was always the problem of Diablo. As long as he existed, Odessa was essentially dead. 

He was so caught up in his thoughts that he didn't notice the presence of a fourth aura until he heard the metallic hiss of Blades being unsheathed. Strife immediately whirled around and drew Ragnarok, prepared to kill the intruder. 

It was Heero. He walked purposely towards him with his arms raised slightly above his head, not looking afraid in the least. Virgil and Aerowyn watched him warily but did not make a move, respecting Strife's relationship with the boy.

"What are you doing here?" Strife demanded a little belligerently. Heero reminded him of his sacrifice, and even though it wasn't really the pilot's fault, he couldn't help but feel slightly bitter towards him. 

The pilot stopped in front of him and regarded him quietly, gradually lowering his arms. Heero's dark blue aura swirled with emotion and Strife noticed with astonishment that one of them was regret. "I'm sorry," he said simply, looking him steadily in the eyes. 

Strife softened a bit, surprised that Heero had come looking for him just to apologize. "Apology accepted, Heero," he replied coolly as he simultaneously sheathed his sword. "But it wasn't your fault." Believing that he had said enough, he turned and started to walk away, Aerowyn and Virgil following in silence, reluctantly sheathing their Blades.

"I owe you my life several times over. Let me help you," Heero stated, watching him leave.

Strife stopped and laughed humorlessly. "Is this your way of thanking me?" he asked dryly, not turning around. 

Heero grimaced and replied grudgingly, "Yes. There has to be something I can do to repay you for your sacrifice."

Strife's face turned stony as he whirled around. "Who told you about that?" he snarled, surprisingly angry that Heero knew about the _Daeminstirul_ and Odessa. It was none of his business. 

Heero didn't even blink as he replied calmly, "Trowa."

"It's none of your business, kid," Strife said coldly. "Just drop it." He scrubbed his face wearily with the palm of his hand, feeling exhausted and spent. Perhaps Heero didn't deserve such a cold reception from him, but he just didn't feel like dealing with any of the Gundam pilots right about now. He had to find Odessa and do...something...

Aerowyn snorted in disbelief. "Whatever happened to your hero worship, Strife?" she taunted. Virgil laughed.

He ignored them and turned to the obstinately determined Heero. "Look, Heero," he began, trying in vain to keep the frustration out of his voice. "The truth is that you're just going to get in the way if you try to help." He saw a flash of injured pride in the pilot's eyes so he hurriedly continued, "I'm not insulting your abilities. But you don't have any defense against magic nor can you use it. So just let me do this by myself."

Heero stared at him for a few moments, weighing him. "Alright," he said finally, resigned. The pilot turned and started to walk away, his hands in the pockets of his blue windbreaker. 

"Wait." This time it was Strife who called after him to stop. Heero turned to face him, an expectant look on his face. "There is one thing you can do for me, Heero." 

"And what is that?"

"Protect Relena," Strife said quietly, looking up at the pale blue sky and thinking of a particular aura.

Heero shot him a puzzled look but did not question him. He just nodded once and continued walking with that fluid grace of his. 

Strife sighed a little and then started to walk away himself, idly kicking the golden leaves that had piled about his feet. 

He had a mission to accomplish.

***************

"**_Ahh, we're finally here,_**" said Diablo, immensely satisfied with himself. They were finally standing in front of the Preventor's HQ, after hours of Slicing to various random places and trying to find a place where the natives actually spoke their language. 

Odessa was exceedingly anxious for she knew the damage that Diablo could cause once he got into the building, but she tried not to show it. "Took you long enough," she complained, yawning over-dramatically. 

"**_Just for that I'm going to cut off Strife's-_**" he abruptly broke off, sounding surprised. "**_Who's that?_**" Odessa watched him turn around and walk quickly towards the main road where they had just come from.

She furrowed her brows. Just what was going on? She couldn't sense anyone - but then again, she was in The Void. 

Diablo turned another corner and there he was, striding gracefully down the sidewalk, unruly brown hair caught in the cold wind.

It was Heero Yuy.

"Damnit!" Odessa hissed, annoyed. Why couldn't the kid just stay out of trouble? He was always in the wrong place at the wrong time.

She could feel Diablo's ghastly grin. "**_What luck to meet up with him again. Let's go pay our old friend a visit,_**" he suggested gleefully, already crossing to street and collecting Threads.

"Leave him alone, Diablo!" Odessa shouted desperately, mentally urging Heero to run. "He hasn't done anything to you! You know he can't hurt you!"

Diablo was now behind Heero, cloaking himself, following him and constructing a paralyze spell all at the same time. "**_I've got him this time..._**" he muttered, ignoring her. His spell was almost finished. 

Odessa was frantic. "Diablo...please! He's just a boy!" she begged him, hoping to get through to him somehow. God, not again. Not _again_. But there was nothing she could do this time, nothing she could do to save the boy with the same aura as Strife. 

*****************

Strife suddenly stopped in his tracks. So did Aerowyn and Virgil. Something was wrong...they could all sense it. He turned back and looked down the street where Heero had disappeared. His eyes narrowed as he felt it again. Something was definitely down there, something _dark_ - 

*******************

AN: Don't you just hate cliffhangers? Anyhow, yeah, I know, that was a really long part. Sorry if any of you out there got bored. I tried to make it interesting. ^_^ Oh and no, there is not supposed to be any yaoi or shounen ai relationship between Strife and Heero and there's not going to be any, though I can see why you would think so. Strife just looks up to Heero and Heero respects Strife. I hope I'm not misleading anyone. Anyway, I'm in school now, so I don't really have a lot of time to write. I'm sorry that it's taking me so long to complete my parts but I'm trying as hard as I can. Motivate me: [Cutlass317@aol.com][1]

   [1]: mailto:Cutlass317@aol.com



	10. Part 10

The War of the Assassins ****

The War of the Assassins

Part 10

Strife quickly turned on his heel and started to stride briskly towards where the dark aura was, only vaguely aware of Aerowyn and Virgil following him. There was a nauseating, sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. He knew who it was. He could recognize that aura in his sleep. It could only belong to one person. 

"**_It's Diablo,_**" Rag confirmed, speaking for the first time in an hour. 

"_Shit Rag!_" Strife exclaimed, afraid, upset, and angry at how unaware he was of just how lonely he had truly felt until Rag had suddenly started talking to him again. He quickly pushed the unwanted rift that had developed between them aside. He _needed_ her, and that was the unadorned truth. "_About time you spoke up - I know it's Diablo - and I need your help._"

"**_You always need my help,_**" his Soul retorted sarcastically, her customary gruffness returning as if it had never left. She had apparently forgiven him for whatever offense he had committed against her. 

Strife grinned weakly, but his heart wasn't in it. He could feel Diablo's aura now, a tangible, thick evil that radiated from all the Threads in the area, stronger and more malevolent than ever. His very presence disrupted the delicate balance of the Threads. It warped and twisted them, tangling them into unrecognizable black balls that would take hours of painstaking work to Cleanse and straighten out. Diablo was a walking disaster. 

He took a few more quick steps until suddenly the aura located directly in front of Diablo hit him like a bolt spell. Strife froze in his tracks, fiercely telling himself that the senses he had honed throughout his years of training were wrong. "It _can't_ be-" 

"**_-Heero, damn it!_**" Rag completed for him angrily. She was just as frustrated as he was. 

Aerowyn had noticed the dark blue aura also, and a sly grin crept across her pale face. "This will be interesting..." she remarked dryly, while raising an eloquent golden eyebrow at Strife. 

He cursed fiercely as he felt Diablo's aura creeping ever closer to Heero's. Without wasting anymore time, Strife broke into a full sprint, using a spell to give him an extra boost. He had to make it to the pilot before Diablo managed to do anything to him. He just _had_ to. He would consider what to do about his oath to destroy Odessa after he got Heero the hell out of there. The stupid kid seemed to have a knack for getting into trouble. 

He sped down the street, ignoring the strange looks of the few confused civilians and the sounds of surprise from Aerowyn and Virgil. Diablo's aura became stronger and stronger and then suddenly, he was there. A black Paralyze spell was hurtling towards Heero, and Strife just barely managed to intercept it with Ragnarok, slicing cleanly through the Threads constructing the spell and causing it to disintegrate. Without missing a beat, Diablo charged at him while uttering an inhuman roar and Strife managed to block his fatal blow, their two Blades shuddering and sparking on impact. 

"**_He's even stronger than last time!_**" shouted Rag, half-panicked. 

Strife grimaced under the force of Diablo's strike and saw Heero raise his gun from the corner of his eye. "_No-_" he blurted as the pilot fired, the bullet singing through the air and heading straight for the back of Diablo's head. 

Everything happened at once. Diablo spun in a blur of midnight blue hair and swung his Blade forcefully downwards, causing a powerful gust of wind that caught the bullet and sent it flying back towards Heero. It happened so quickly and so unexpectedly that even Heero was taken by surprise and could only watch helplessly while his own bullet betrayed him. 

Strife reacted without thinking. There was absolutely no time to stop the bullet with a spell or with Rag, so he halted its deadly path with the only thing he could. A fiery burst of pain exploded from the flesh just below his right shoulder as the bullet slammed into it. He bit his tongue to keep from crying out in pain as he collapsed to the ground, both Rag and Heero shouting his name with worry. 

Strife clumsily propped himself up with his sword as Diablo stalked slowly towards him, an immensely satisfied smirk on his face. Heero stood in front of him, shielding him with the little protection that he could offer. "Stop," he commanded darkly, even though he very well knew that he could not possibly do anything. Diablo laughed and kept on walking, constructing a brutal Dark Tempest spell for the finishing touch. 

Heero's bravery would've touched Strife in any other situation, but he definitely did not appreciate it at that particular moment. Whatever else happened, he could not let the innocent Gundam pilot die. There was already too much blood on his hands. "Run, Heero," Strife croaked, staggering to his feet and switching his hold on Rag to his left hand. He was equally skilled in both hands but now he could not manage a more powerful two-handed grip on his sword. Blood flowed freely from the bullet wound on his shoulder, and from the intensity of the pain, he knew that it had shattered bone. 

Heero turned to face him, uncharacteristic worry etched in his face and swirling through his aura. "But this was my fault-"

"_Just do it!_" Strife shouted angrily, the aura around Rag bursting into a red-hot flame, perilously close to Heero's arm. 

"**_Stupid stubborn boy,_**" Rag muttered in annoyance, uneasily watching the advancing Diablo. 

Heero recoiled and stared intensely at him for a few moments. "I am not a coward. I will not leave he who has saved my life to his death," he finally said quietly, his eyes flooded with determined compassion. 

Strife grimaced. Diablo was only a few feet away - it was not the time for Heero to be noble. "_Please_ Heero," he begged, reaching for the only weapon he possessed. "Relena is waiting for you - what would happen to her if she found out that you were dead?" 

Heero's eyes softened at the mention of Relena's name. The fierce determination gradually faded from his aura and changed into reluctant acceptance. Strife saw with immense relief that he had won. The pilot had no reason to sacrifice his life for him - he had someone more precious to go back to. "I'm sorry," Heero said eventually as he turned to leave. 

__

Apology accepted, Strife thought as he whirled to face Diablo, immediately raising his guard and wincing as he jarred his wounded arm. 

"**Too late, Strife!**" Diablo laughed as he threw the immensely powerful Dark Tempest spell at him. It flew towards him at an incredible speed.

He desperately tried to raise a magic shield in time to block the spell. "_It's too fast-_" Strife blurted. He was going too slowly, hindered by his arm, and it was too large to slice through. _Too late to run-_

"**_Strife you have GOT to block it! You can't possibly take a spell of that magnitude in your condition!_**" Rag screamed at him, panicking.

It was too close - he was almost done with his shield - his arm was pulsing with pain - it was too late - the spell was so dark - he could feel its _power_ as it roared towards him, a ferocious tempest of chaotic Thread-born wind. One last Thread to connect - just one more - he could feel the black wind start to tear at his flesh, whipping his hair about his face - he couldn't see - _too late _-

"_Ragnarok!_" Strife roared as the storm began to engulf him, his pathetic half-shield ripped to shreds.

The slicing pain, the oppressive dark, and the chaotic tempest ceased almost as soon as it had begun. Strife opened his eyes and looked in wonder at the dark green, tightly woven network of Threads shielding him from the spell raging furiously around him. _No way_...

"No one kills Strife while I'm still around," remarked Aerowyn lazily, leaning casually on her pulsing green Blade. Virgil stood a few feet behind her, the stony look on his face reflecting his obvious disapproval. 

"**_I can't believe that she actually saved you,_**" Rag said, shocked. 

Strife shook his head. It _was_ rather surprising, but he took the opportunity to heal himself instead of wondering if Aerowyn still had a thing for him. He would have to be back in working order by the time the storm blew itself out.

Diablo did not like being thwarted. "**Aerowyn Silverlye...what a surprising change of heart - have you finally grown weary of that stupid redhead who follows you around?**" he spat acidly, glaring balefully at the golden-haired woman.

"You better watch your mouth, Diablo," Virgil warned, his icy eyes flashing dangerously. 

Aerowyn just laughed and replied, "_He_ isn't important to me, but the money I'll get for making sure that Strife kills you _is_."

Now it was Diablo's turn to laugh as Virgil turn to face Aerowyn, crimson rage splotching his pale face. "_Aerowyn-_" he began, hurt and angry.

Strife grimaced as Aerowyn and Virgil started to argue while Diablo gleefully fanned the fire on the sidelines. Virgil may not have been the most intelligent of people, but he was still dangerous. Especially when he was angry. Pretty soon they'd be in a full-fledged battle. _Well, at least they won't bother me anymore..._

"**_You think he'd figure it out a little sooner,_**" Rag muttered, annoyed.

"It wasn't wise of her to do that," Strife replied dryly, stretching his newly healed arm and watching the dark tempest raging around him carefully. As soon as it let up he would slice out of the magic shield and resume his battle with Diablo. 

"**_And then what?_**" Rag asked him quietly. "**_You already know that you can't kill him, not while Odessa's still inside._**"

Strife scowled. He still hadn't decided what to do about that particular topic and he hated the subject. "What do you suggest I do then?" he retorted angrily. 

Right as she began to reply, the storm abruptly stopped. Strife immediately sliced through the dark green Threads of the shield and raced towards where Diablo was refereeing the shouting match between Aerowyn and Virgil. He crept stealthily behind him and was about to attack when Diablo suddenly turned around. 

"**Not so fast,**" he sneered, unearthly fire burning deep within his black eyes. He immediately threw a ball of dark fire from his Blade and disappeared. Strife cursed as he sliced through the fireball and heightened all of his senses, trying to detect where Diablo had fled. Aerowyn and Virgil were now in a fight of their own, just as he had predicted. Virgil was raining huge icicles upon the ground and Aerowyn was taunting him while agilely avoiding every one. 

"**_Behind you!_**" Rag suddenly shouted, diverting his attention from the two battling Assassins. 

Strife felt Diablo's aura just as Rag warned him about it, and he turned in time to block the deadly blow aimed at his head. It was the beginning of a long and wearying battle, with Strife throwing various spells and blocking Diablo's, both exchanging earth-shattering blows with their respective Blades, and Rag coaching him all the way. But as the battle wore on, Strife felt himself gradually slipping. He was growing more and more tired, and every time he had a chance to end the fight and inflict a fatal blow, he found that he couldn't bring himself to do it. Diablo noticed this and so taunted him by giving him even more blatantly obvious opportunities. Every time he had the chance, Strife almost killed him, instinctively following all of his training. But every time he stopped himself, remembering that Odessa was still in there, and he could almost hear her screaming for him to spare her life. 

"**_You can't last much longer,_**" Rag said worriedly as he just barely blocked another bone-shattering blow from Diablo, and obtained a large diagonal gash across his cheek in the process. Strife reeled and staggered away, trying to catch his breath. By now he had obtained a good number of cuts from Diablo's Blade, each one slowly poisoning him. He didn't have enough time to stop and cure himself so he fought doggedly on, becoming more and more sluggish with each blow. Diablo was just playing with him now, a malicious grin plastered on his face.

"**You're slowing down, Strife,**" Diablo taunted, tirelessly pressing his attack. He didn't even have a single scratch, and was apparently enjoying the fight immensely. 

"_What should I do?_" asked Strife desperately, fighting to stay alert and conscious. The combination of the long battle and Diablo's poison resulted in an overwhelming, oppressive weariness. It was an effort to stay awake, much less move his heavy, listless limbs quickly enough to avoid being injured and poisoned even further. Every cell in his body ached with pain and fatigue. It wouldn't be much longer until Diablo wearied of his game...

"**_Fuse me with him,_**" Rag replied, and then added hurriedly, "**_Just HIM mind you. I can Fuse with Diablo and only Odessa will be left. All you have to do is heal her._**"

Strife narrowly dodged another spell and then began to furiously rage at her, "_Are you INSANE?!_ _You'll have to self-destruct if you Fuse with him to make sure he'll never come back - and that's only if you're able to take control of him so that you don't become another Diablo!_"

"**_I can do it,_**" Rag retorted, with feigned confidence. He could tell that under her cocky exterior she was really uncertain and afraid. Just like him. 

"_Out of the question, Rag,_" he said fiercely while swiftly constructing a Blaze spell. "_There's no way I'm going to let you risk it. I'm not going to lose you._" How could she even _think_ about self-destructing? Didn't she know that he needed her more than anything?

Diablo sliced through his spell and charged at him, leaving his left side open as a blatant challenge. "**_No, Strife,_**" Rag replied soberly to his unspoken thoughts. "**_You've already decided that you can live without me. As long as you have Odessa...it'll be better for you in the long run, remember?_**" 

Strife reeled, shocked. She knew about that. Of course she knew about it. But it was still shocking to hear her say it herself. And she sounded sad, so infinitely sad. He'd rather hear her yell at him, bitter and angry, than to hear that weary sadness in her voice. She accepted it. And she was ready to sacrifice herself. For him. 

"_No-_" he breathed, crushed with the knowledge of what she was about to do next. "_Don't - Rag..._"

"**_You can't stop me, Strife,_**" Rag said quietly, determination lacing her voice and her aura turning brighter.

Strife stared blindly at Diablo racing towards him, too shocked to raise his guard. He couldn't stop her. He couldn't _stop_ her. She was going to kill herself and he couldn't possibly stop her. He didn't have to key her in order for her to Fuse with someone. That was back when he was a Mercenary. Now he didn't even have to physically lift her himself and make the killing blow. She was strong enough to do it herself, but she had never undermined his authority before. None of that mattered now. Rag was going to kill herself. _Kill _herself. He had pictured her being stripped forcefully from him, after fighting for her valiantly. But he couldn't fight _her_. Not if she really wanted to self-destruct. He could only stand by and watch..._oh God_...

"**_Strife, I'm sorry it had to come to this...but it this is the only thing I can do for you now,_**" she began gently. 

"Ragnarok..._please_," he begged, the sky swirling dizzily around him. He was starting to succumb to the poison. Or was it just the shock? Or the utter helplessness he was feeling?

She apparently didn't hear him and continued with her quiet speech, "**_I was at first - angry - with you for choosing Odessa over me. But now I'm truly happy for you. You've found someone to live for. You finally understand that there are things more important in life than a sword. That it's not necessary to spend the rest of your days killing people unmercifully. That you don't have to sell your soul to earn a living. That you can FEEL - and be content, not like what your Sensei told you. I wanted you to know those things ever since you met Odessa._**" She turned brighter still, until she was too painful to directly look at. She was preparing to Fuse. "**_I knew you loved her you know - that she was the one. Ever since that first day..._**" she whispered, her voice thick with emotion.

Diablo came ever closer...

"_Stop!_" Strife yelled at her, desperation and fear growing inside of him. Her words had an eerie finality to them. "_Rag, LISTEN to me! Stop this! You don't have to do this for me!_" His eyes felt hot with sudden tears as he repeated brokenly, "You don't have to _do_ this for me..."

"**_But I want to do this for you, Strife,_**" Rag replied poignantly. There was an odd quality to her voice - and then Strife realized with numbing shock that she was _crying_. In all of the years that he had known her, she had been upset and angry, but he had never before felt her cry. It was almost unbearably painful. "**_Just - go on without me, okay? Search for your true Soul because I'm not it and never have been, no matter what you might believe. Live your life, no matter how much it'll hurt at first..._**" she choked, half-sobbing. She then paused and seemed to try to gain some control over herself. "**_And try to think with your brain instead of your balls,_**" she added finally, laughing weakly through her tears. 

Strife stared at her in utter desolation, his tears stinging the wounds on his face. "_Ragnarok_...don't_ leave _me," he cried unsteadily, trying one last time to stop her. This couldn't be happening. It was just some awful nightmare. Rag would never cry. Rag would never leave him. Never.

"**_I'm sorry Strife..._**" she replied, starting to shake violently in his grip. She was rapidly gaining strength and turning the peculiar red-orange color that she always turned right before she Fused. "**_I - I love you,_**" she stammered, her voice wavering with tears and with a note of tenderness that he had never heard from her before. She sounded so frightened... 

It was at that instant that he _knew_ that she was really going through with it and that it was too late to stop her. 

"_No_ - _Rag! Wait! I-_"

Suddenly, Diablo was there, right in front of him, and it was too late to tell her.

Too weak, hurt, and stunned to stop or fight her, Rag lifted herself in his hands and plunged herself into Diablo's unprotected left side. Diablo roared in pain and there was a blinding flash of crimson light as Rag began to Fuse with him. Strife winced at the light and let go of her, collapsing numbly to his knees. She stayed spitted in Diablo's shuddering side, absorbing the thick black darkness from Odessa's body. It pulsed in waves up and down her blade, and then began to become part of her blade itself. Black and red swirled on her silver surface, clashing and colliding violently together; Rag and Diablo viciously fighting for control of the sword. Finally, when Rag was mostly a crimson red, she withdrew herself from Odessa and began to glow brighter and brighter. Huge cracks gradually started to appear in her blade, slowly spreading outwards to reach even the very tip. 

"**_Goodbye, Strife,_**" Ragnarok whispered gently into his mind, sounding faint and distant. She then suddenly shattered into a burst of sky metal and scarlet light, exploding into hundreds of tiny pieces with a shrill metallic screech that sounded eerily close to a scream...

"_RAGNAROK_!!"

****************

Strife woke up, and instinctively reached for Rag, only to discover that she wasn't there. Perhaps he had misplaced her on accident, though he knew in his heart that it wasn't true. He still had to try, at least. "Rag..." he called desperately, waiting for her reply. Silence. Oppressive, thick, silence. "Ragnarok!" he shouted, more urgently. There was no reply. Strife began to feel frantically afraid - he had lost Rag. Impossible. But it was true, he couldn't feel her in his mind. There was a horrible empty space where Rag used to be. He was alone, utterly alone. 

He abruptly sat up at the realization and flinched as he cut his hand on a small shard of silver sky metal. It had a faint red glow to it..._what's this?_ The memories of what had happened suddenly flooded him, and he could once again hear his beloved Blade Soul screaming in pain...Ragnarok was dead. Dead. 

"No. Rag..._Rag_," he choked, shaking violently. He would never talk to her or see her or be one with her again. And he had never told her...never _told_ her. He had so many chances and he had never told her. "Rag - I love you. How could you leave me? _I_ _love you_, damn it!" he shouted into the empty air, hoping that she'd answer him once she knew. 

Silence. 

The enormity of her death finally hit him as he curled into a fetal position on the cold, unyielding sidewalk and started to cry, feeling broken and lost and empty and above all, _alone_. 

"_How could you leave me_?!"

As he started to calm down a bit, Strife felt a faint, familiar aura somewhere near him, but it was too dark to see exactly where it was. But he could feel it there, gently pulsing. _It's Odessa..._

He just barely dragged himself to his feet, his head pounding and the world swimming dizzily around him. He took one step and cried out as his legs gave out from under him. He collapsed once again to the ground, his body aching with pain, and his limbs heavy and useless. The poison from Diablo's Blade was still in his system, and was slowly overwhelming him. He could feel the black unconsciousness seeping across his mind. But he could feel Odessa too, gradually fading. He couldn't give up now - he had to try _something_ to help her. 

So Strife clumsily, painstakingly crawled in the direction of Odessa's aura, inch by inch. It seemed an eternity before he finally reached her, but suddenly, there she was, blood from the sword wound on her left side pooling around her body, staining her beautiful hair. She was so pale, glowing white in the faint moonlight. With the last of his strength, Strife managed to drag her with him to rest under a tree planted next the sidewalk. He cradled her tenderly, her head resting on his shoulder, and his arms wrapped around her waist, carefully avoiding her wound. Her breathing was dangerously shallow, and her pulse was slow and sluggish. 

"Odessa, wake up," he said frantically, frightened by her cold stillness. She didn't reply. "Wake up, wake up, _wake up!_" he shouted into her ear, hysterical with fear and grief. _First Rag - and now this._

He could feel the fragile life fading from her... 

Suddenly, he saw a metallic glint of silver light from the corner of his eye. There was a silhouette of a sword lying a foot away from him on the sidewalk - for a crazy instant he thought that it was Ragnarok. But as Strife gingerly picked it up, he realized that it was Odessa's Blade, now just a sword, lacking both Lumina and Diablo. He fervently tried to construct a Heal spell with it, though it lacked any magical properties. It didn't work. Perhaps he might've been able to do it if there was light and he was uninjured, but he was so tired, so desperate, and his hands so stiff with cold that he couldn't even get the correct Threads untangled. After many fruitless efforts, Strife threw the sword against the sidewalk in frustration, watching it slide into the street. It didn't matter what happened to it. It was just a sword.

Odessa was just barely breathing by this time, and she was still bleeding. Strife abruptly took off his black jacket, ignoring the cold slicing into his bare arms, and bound it tightly across her wound, watching in horror as blood started to slowly seep through it. 

__

This is not good. "Help!" he shouted desperately into the empty street. "Somebody please help! I have someone injured here! _Please_..." Only his own echo and the biting wind answered him. There was not a soul outside within miles. Darkness, space and trees surrounded him, not business complexes or even houses. And he couldn't leave Odessa by herself, much less walk for help. Even Aerowyn and Virgil were nowhere to be found, probably already back on Lothos and telling the Baron about how he had broken an oath to the _Daeminstirul._ There was no one that could possibly help him now.

Odessa was dying...

He pulled her closer, trying to keep her warm. She was so cold, and so limp and fragile in his arms. He couldn't withstand the overwhelming grief and complete helplessness any longer. Strife buried his face into her hair and started to cry, his shoulders shaking with wracking sobs. Rag had sacrificed her life so that Odessa might live, and now that she had done so, Strife couldn't even do an absurdly simple thing like heal the girl. He had failed his Blade Soul miserably. 

"I'm sorry Rag," he choked through his tears, pounding the sidewalk with his fist in frustration. "I tried to help her - I tried Rag...I'm sorry - _I'm so sorry_..." 

***************

Strife woke up and blinked painfully at the diffused white light surrounding him. He was faintly aware of a strong aseptic, sterile smell and of stiff, starchy sheets covering his body. 

"Welcome back, Strife," murmured a soft, musical voice. He couldn't see who it was - the world was just a big white blur, but he _knew_ who had spoken to him, the voice sounded so familiar...

He abruptly sat up, wanting desperately to see who was there and flinched as he stretched old wounds on his bare chest.

"Careful, now," cooed the quietly feminine voice, trying to push him back down with a cool hand. Strife instinctively grabbed her wrist and stared, shocked, into the most beautiful violet eyes he had ever seen wavering unsteadily in his vision. 

"Odessa..." he breathed, stunned, gripping her wrist so tightly that his knuckles turned white. It couldn't be true - it couldn't possibly be true. Tears welled unbidden in his eyes as he saw how frail and fragile she was, and yet still so stunningly beautiful. God was toying with him, punishing him for all of the lives he had ended. Odessa couldn't possibly be alive. He had seen her die. _Felt_ her life bleed away. "You're dead..." he whispered unsteadily, swallowing his tears and trying desperately to wake himself from his horrible, horrible dream.

Her eyes filled with tears as she tremblingly traced the scar on his cheek with her other hand. Strife shivered at her cool, soothing touch. "You always say that when you see me - why can't you be normal and just say 'hello?" she managed to choke out, a weak smile on her face. 

Strife laughed with overwhelming relief, realizing suddenly that the impossible was true. Odessa was alive - _alive_. They embraced each other tightly, ignoring their respective wounds and shedding a few happy tears. Strife marveled at how content, how utterly complete that he felt with her in his arms. She almost filled the void in his spirit that Rag had once occupied.

But that didn't matter now. Nothing mattered except that Odessa was all right. Strife sighed in content as she rested her head gently on his chest, her hair tickling his flesh. He stroked her face tenderly, feeling comforted and safe. Everything was going to be okay. 

*******************

Virgil desperately constructed another Heal spell, trying to wake the battered, golden-haired woman. It didn't work. She remained still and cold, crimson blood trickling sluggishly down her face from the wound on her forehead. So still-

"Aerowyn," he called frantically, shaking her shoulders. She didn't answer and slid limply from his arms, her skin slick with blood. Virgil stared blankly at her stiff body for a few moments, the truth slowly sinking in. 

Virgil roared in anger and frustration. She was dead. And that black-haired punk had killed her. _Killed_ her. 

Without wasting anymore time, Virgil tenderly placed Aerowyn's body under a tree. He cloaked the location and swiftly started to Slice, his vision tinted red with rage. 

Strife was going to pay. 

*******************

AN: I apologize to all of you out there who love Rag. Email me if you want a detailed explanation as to why I killed her. Anyhow, it's almost over folks. Probably just one more part and an Afterward. I'll be wrapping up all the loose ends and the cliffhanger above. Thanks! [Cutlass317@aol.com][1]

   [1]: mailto:Cutlass317@aol.com



	11. Part 11

The War of the Assassins

Warning: Lots of fluff between Strife and Odessa in this part. 

****

The War of the Assassins

Part 11

"Odessa...where am I?" Strife asked curiously, eyeing the white room in wonder. It was all so surreal - in fact, it seemed like just minutes ago when he was leaning against cold, rough bark and crying into her hair.

Odessa looked up at him and smiled as she replied casually, "Room 205, 1st Floor - the Infirmary at Preventor's HQ."

Strife started. "_What?!_" he exclaimed, taken by surprise. He abruptly scowled as Odessa started laughing at the shocked look on his face. He looked sharply around him and noticed the white hospital beds and various medicines, surgical instruments, and above all the sterile smell that permeated everything in the room. Also, Odessa was more or less healed, and his own wounds were bandaged or had already scarred over. _Of course. _Everything began to fit together. There was only one problem-

"How the hell did I get here?" demanded Strife darkly, furrowing his brows. His Assassin instincts were acting up again - it was all just a little too suspicious.

"Now, now - no need to get all riled up," Odessa chastised playfully, shifting in his arms so that her forehead was pressed against his. "But Strife...I know something else that you're - how should I say - _excited_ by," she breathed against his mouth, a wickedly coy look in her enchanting, normally somber eyes. 

Strife's mouth curled into a feral grin. So _this_ was Odessa's Siren side. He found her open, blatant suggestiveness oddly attractive. _I can take a hint._ "Answers - after - then," he stated in mock severity, as he pulled her down on top of him.

Fully occupied, Strife did not notice the ice blue aura until it was too late.

"_No-_" he blurted, pushing Odessa behind him as Virgil burst into the room. 

"You _killed_ her!" Virgil roared, his aura bursting into an angry, boiling red as he threw a deadly barrage of icicles straight at him. 

Time froze as the coldly beautiful, fatally sharp ice hurtled towards Strife

He stared at the blue/white shards and was reminded of Heero. He wondered how in the world he had managed to kill Aerowyn. He felt Odessa pressing against his back, her aura black with fear and worry, and swirling with an outraged red - the same color as Rag's aura. He felt an immense sense of regret as he realized that the only thing he could do for his love now was to hope that the ice did not go through him and kill her also. He had just found her again - God how he loved her-

Odessa pushed him roughly aside. Taken by surprise, Strife staggered backwards and tripped on a bed sheet. He collapsed clumsily to the ground and righted himself just in time to see her standing in front of him, proud, noble and beautiful, about to take the spell that was meant for _him_. 

"Oh _no_ - ODESSA!!"

The shimmering silver of a Blade sliced through the air, catching the deadly icicles as it slammed into its smooth surface with a metallic ring. The Blade hit the wall with a thud, where it stayed impaled. 

Immediately afterward a single shot rang out, and a burst of hot blood exploded from Virgil's head. The Assassin collapsed stiffly to the ground, his face an unrecognizable mass of ruined, bloodied flesh and bone. His aura and Blade faded quickly out of existence until there was not a trace of that characteristic ice blue.

Strife started shaking uncontrollably as he stared in utter bewilderment at his savior standing casually in the doorway. "Heero..."

Heero eyed his smoking gun with no small amount of irony. "So it does work," he replied dryly. 

Strife stared at him for a few moments more and then started laughing with immense relief and sudden comprehension. _Preventors' HQ - of course Heero would be here._ It really wasn't that surprising.

He abruptly stopped laughing as he watched Odessa walk deliberately towards the pilot and put her arms on his shoulders. Heero looked down at her in confusion. "What...?"

"Thank you, Heero," she said quietly, sincerity and gratefulness written in every muscle of her body. She then suddenly reached up and kissed him on the cheek. Strife felt a swift twinge of jealously that was extinguished just as quickly as he saw Heero blush ever so slightly. The pilot had not expected it either. He eventually managed to nod a bit awkwardly, obviously feeling uncomfortable. Odessa smiled at him warmly and then turned away, heading back for Strife and carefully avoiding Virgil's corpse.

Strife enveloped her tightly in his arms, immensely grateful that she was okay. He just held her for a few quiet moments, marveling at the feeling of completeness and serenity that washed over him.

He felt Heero start to leave so he abruptly looked up and called, "Heero-"

The boy turned to face him. "Strife...I'm glad that you're in good health. What is it?"

"Thank you - that was some damn good aim," Strife replied warmly, smiling at him. "Consider the debt paid."

Heero frowned ever so slightly. "But you saved my life more than once..."

"Yes...but - Odessa is worth more to me than my own life," he said, and then immediately stopped, surprised that he had said it and at the utter sincerity in his voice. It was true. He could feel it from the depths of his soul. Odessa looked up at him, taken back. He usually wasn't one to voice his emotions and feelings about other people so openly and she had certainly never expected him to say something like that out loud and in public. 

This time Heero smiled back, his aura swirling with understanding. "I know how you feel," he replied quietly, and then turned to leave. "I'll get someone to clean up the mess," he called coolly over his shoulder as he walked out of the Infirmary. 

Strife smiled wryly, looking at the empty doorframe. "That's our Heero...Mr. Calm-and-Collected," he muttered half to himself, amused.

"Yes, but Relena is softening him up," Odessa murmured contentedly against his shoulder. 

Strife looked fondly at her, flooded with so many emotions that he couldn't quite identify. "Why did you do that back there...push me back and try to sacrifice yourself for me?" he asked quietly. 

"Because I love you, Strife," she replied simply and tenderly.

*"**_I - I love you,_**"*

Rag's voice echoed painfully in his memory. Strife shook his head fiercely. _This is Odessa, not Rag. _

"I could ask you the same question you know," Odessa remarked cheerfully, idly playing with the hairs on the back of his neck and successfully dissipating all thoughts of Rag from his mind.

Strife smiled and leaned over to kiss her. He had almost forgotten how good it felt. "Because I love you, too," he whispered against her lips.

She pulled away and looked at him solemnly with her enchanting eyes. "You really meant what you said to Heero back there didn't you?"

He nodded gravely, running his hands through her silky long hair. 

"You never said anything like that about me before..." Odessa added, her voice wavering and her eyes filling with tears. Strife could tell by her aura that she was truly touched.

He couldn't help but feel a bit ashamed of himself. "I'm just sorry that I didn't tell you sooner," he said seriously, and then found himself again thinking of Rag. God how he missed her. "I never got to tell Rag..." he choked, almost as an afterthought and more to himself than to Odessa.

She must have heard the hurt in his voice because the next thing he knew, she was tenderly kissing away the tears that had suddenly started streaming down his face. "I know how much she meant to you," she said quietly. "I'm so sorry, Strife."

"So am I," he replied sadly. 

Odessa started gently caressing his face in an effort to comfort him and seemed fascinated in tracing his scars. Soon she moved down to the long, expansive scars on his chest and he shivered with violent pleasure as she stroked his sensitive flesh with her cool, slender hands. 

Desire was swift and overwhelming. "I-" he started hoarsely, pressing her hard against him, unable to continue. 

"Somewhere where Mr. Virgil Trysten won't be watching, preferably," replied Odessa wryly, untangling herself from his arms and dragging him out of the bloodied, tainted Infirmary. Strife allowed her pull him, ignoring the amused, confused, and sly looks that the people in the halls shot him. He supposed that the two of them _were_ a strange sight - a half-naked man wearing just boxers and a woman in hospital scrubs pulling him around. But he was too happy to feel embarrassed. 

They finally reached a comfortable, secluded room that looked like some sort of living quarters. 

"Where are we?" Strife asked, confused and thoroughly lost.

"Answers - after - remember?" Odessa replied playfully, pulling him towards her.

****************

He did indeed find out the answers to all his questions afterwards. Heero invited him and Odessa to have dinner with him and Relena and they got along beautifully. Strife also had a prime opportunity to catch up on things. He found out that Heero and Odessa had become good friends after Odessa had explained to Heero that she had seduced him mainly with magic back when they were fighting each other. Relena had helped the situation by good-naturedly responding to Heero's apology that if she were him, she'd be attracted to Odessa too. Strife had also found out that Relena had warmed up to him after Heero explained how he had saved his life multiple times, and they actually got along rather well after they spent some time together. 

Unsurprisingly, Relena and Odessa were the best of friends and spent most of their free time together - shopping, chatting, gossiping, and just having fun. Heero and Strife would watch them in wonder, seeing sides of their respective girlfriends that they had never seen before. Those two were absolutely crazy when they got together. Of course Strife and Heero were best friends also, but being together did not bring out any hidden sides of their characters. They were just too much alike.

As to how Strife and Odessa had ended up at the Preventors' Headquarters anyway, Heero reported that he had actually _felt_ Strife's calls for help on that dark night and had gone with Sally and Wufei to check it out. When they found Odessa with him, they had originally not known what to do because they only knew her as Siren, the leader of the most dangerous rebellion they had ever faced. But yet again, Heero sensed that Siren was somehow different, and persuaded Sally and Wufei to take both her and Strife back to the Infirmary. When Odessa woke up, they were all very surprised to find her completely different from Siren. Except for Heero that is. 

The only way that Strife could ever explain Heero's phenomenon was that the pilot was already extremely perceptive, and since Strife had the same aura as him he could feel him when he was distressed, and since Odessa had the same aura as Relena, he could empathize with her also. 

Strife's recovery was much more difficult than Odessa's. The doctors just did not know what to do when the poison from Diablo's Blade kept him in a coma for two weeks. They did not know what type of poison it was nor did they know how to cure him. They feared that he would never completely heal and at one point, just gave up on him and left him for dead. That is until Odessa was fully healed. She immediately took her Blade and after much effort constructed a Cleanse spell and let the doctors do the rest. To their immense surprise, Strife woke up two days later, completely well. 

Odessa also explained what the room was that she had taken him to. The Preventors had generously provided her with her own quarters, but she had rarely slept in it. Instead, she spent almost all of her time next to Strife's hospital bed, so that she'd be there when he woke up. Also, there was no permanent medical staff at the Infirmary, so they needed someone to watch him for any signs of change. That's why Strife and Odessa were alone when Virgil arrived.

Sally and Wufei actually knew that Virgil was there, and called Heero for help since he had the most knowledge of Assassins. He rushed to the Infirmary and when he saw the deadly icicles hurtling for Odessa, he instinctively picked up her Blade resting by the door and threw it as hard as he could, hoping that the swords were as strong as they looked. He then tried yet again to shoot an Assassin, and it had fortunately finally worked. 

They buried Virgil's body later that day. 

Afterwards, when they took a look at Odessa's Blade, they found that the ice had actually punctured _through_ the sword, but had thankfully not gone all the way through. Odessa later let the Preventors archive the sword for future reference and study, since she did not need it any longer.

A day after Strife woke up, Sally and Wufei brought back Aerowyn's body. It had been originally cloaked and therefore hidden from view, but when Virgil died, the spell gradually disintegrated by itself. Strife felt like throwing up when he saw Aerowyn's corpse. There was a large, deep gash in her forehead where a piece of sky metal from Ragnarok had lodged, just outside her skull. Strife found that rather ironic, for Rag had absolutely despised Aerowyn and that she would harm her with her death seemed like just the extreme that Rag would resort to. That wound itself actually shouldn't have killed her, but the apparent icicle blasts that had hit her did. She was a broken, bloody, mangled mess. 

"I'm guessing that while she was busy with that forehead wound, Virgil hit her with an ice blast from above and she wasn't able to dodge it in time," remarked Strife thoughtfully.

"Then why blame it on you?" asked Odessa, confused.

"Because he couldn't blame it on himself without going insane," he replied somberly, thinking about the last time that he had seen the redhead. Virgil had pretty much been unhinged even then. 

"You're probably right," replied Odessa, looking at Aerowyn's body with obvious distaste. "Well at least we don't have to deal with her or the _Daeminstirul_ anymore."

"You know we can't escape from the _Daeminstirul_ or the Baron, Odessa," he said quietly. "There's no getting away from your father. He wants us both dead and he'll find out about my oath to the _Daeminstirul_ sooner or later. Or he'll find something else to kill us for. Like Aerowyn and Virgil's deaths."

Odessa sighed wearily and idly played with a strand of her dark hair. "I know...but I don't want to leave..."

Neither did Strife.

After a little debate, they decided to bury Aerowyn next to Virgil. They knew that it would piss Aerowyn off but please Virgil immensely, so in the end they concluded that the two canceled each other out and that burying them next to each other would neither be good nor bad. 

After maybe a month or so, they both knew that it was time for them to leave the Sanq Kingdom. Strife and Odessa tried their best to explain to Relena and Heero why it was necessary for them to go. 

"They know we're on Earth," explained Strife wearily for the millionth time. "We'll only be endangering you if we stay in the Sanq Kingdom any longer, because now the Baron probably already has spies out here - we _have_ to keep on moving and avoid staying in one location for a long period of time. We're already pushing it...just please try to understand."

Relena adamantly refused to let them go. "How do we know that you will be all right if you can never come see us or contact us?" she demanded stubbornly. She had gotten extremely attached to Odessa and Strife over the past month or so and was not going to let them leave without a fight. 

"Relena..." Odessa groaned, annoyed and her patience wearing thin. They had been arguing for the past half-hour. 

"I just don't want you to get hurt, Dess!" replied Relena fiercely, resorting to her pet name for Odessa.

Odessa softened up a bit. Relena was like a little sister to her and she didn't want to leave her either. But she would not risk causing harm to her by staying. "Just please let us go..." she whispered, her aura reflecting her desperation and stress.

Strife felt it, and put a hand comfortingly on her shoulder. "Odessa..." he said, concerned.

Relena began to relent as she saw how worried Strife was. Heero gave her the final push. "They have to go, Relena," he said gently. "I don't want them to leave either, but they can take care of themselves. They were Assassins, remember?"

Relena looked up at him, tears filling her ocean-blue eyes, knowing that she had lost the battle. "I just don't want them to get hurt," she repeated, choking back her tears. "It's like during the war - we will not know if they are even dead or alive. And we won't be able to do anything if they are in trouble or if they are..._dying_," she added, her voice cracking. "Like when you left me - I just don't want that to _happen_ again, Heero," she cried, anguished.

"Relena-" Odessa began, pained by her despair. She started to move towards her. 

Heero shook his head ever so slightly. Odessa froze, distressed and bewildered. The pilot tenderly took Relena into his arms and let her cry against his chest. "Shh, it's okay - I won't leave you again, Relena. It'll be alright," he cooed gently, smoothing back her hair. Heero looked up at them only once, his gaze hurt and intense. The emotion swirling in his normally placid aura was overwhelming. He was almost begging them to leave him and Relena alone...

Strife understood and so quietly took Odessa's hand and led her away.

It was not their fight any longer.

*****************

Odessa was unusually depressed that evening. "Strife I _hate_ this!" she suddenly blurted over their dinner, angry with herself. "I hate having to hurt them like this!" 

Strife looked at her, worried. She was uncommonly angry and upset. "We don't have a choice," he said again, reaffirming his own resolve. He had no desire to leave either, but he knew that they had to. _I can't let Heero or Relena get hurt. And there's no way that I can protect them now..._

She scowled at him, annoyed. "That's what makes it worse," she snarled, throwing her fork down on the table and pushing herself to her feet.

Strife caught her before she could leave. "Odessa..." he murmured tenderly into her ear, trying to soothe her, his arms wrapped tightly around her waist. 

She was rigid in his arms, quivering with tension. "Please let go of me, Strife," Odessa replied stiffly and with a threatening undertone. She was strung much too tight...

He could feel it and wanted more than anything to comfort the woman trembling against his body. He suddenly remembered what Odessa had said to him when he was in a dark mood. "Now now Odessa - no need to get all riled up. There's surely something else that - how should I say - _excites_ you," he said quietly and too seriously, meaning to comfort and amuse, not seduce.

He felt her gradually relax and start to laugh weakly. "That was horrible, Strife," she complained half-heartedly.

Strife smiled, relieved. "Yeah well, it saved me from getting my ass kicked," he replied wryly, stroking her hair gently.

Odessa grinned and then her smile abruptly faded as she said quietly, "I'm sorry Strife...it's just that-" she broke off, unable to continue, her violet eyes shining with hurt tears. She looked away, embarrassed. 

"I know," he answered kindly, tenderly turning her face towards him for a kiss. They had both forged bonds with Relena and Heero that they did not want to break. But it would be necessary to do so for their protection, no matter how much they hated leaving. 

Odessa broke the kiss and wrapped her arms around his chest, her cheek pressed to his shoulder. Strife held her tightly and they stayed like that in complete silence for a very long time.

********************

The next day Strife and Odessa were up at dawn. They had a long journey ahead of them. Relena and Heero were waiting for them outside, looking solemn in the pink-gray light. When they saw him, they shared an amused glance and then stepped aside to reveal an old-fashioned, black chrome, classic Harley Davidson.

Strife gaped. "You're kidding me..." he said in wonder, eyeing the shining, polished motorcycle with awe. He had told Heero about the air motorcycles he had loved to ride on Lothos, but he had never expected the pilot to do something like this for him. "Are you really giving it to us?" he asked, failing to keep the excitement and eagerness out of his voice. He had truly missed riding them - he loved the feeling of wind rushing through his hair and seeing the road blurring past him. 

"Yes," Heero answered, a wry look on his face. "We weren't going to make you walk the whole way, and I didn't think that you could drive the cars we have here. So Relena dug up a motorcycle."

"We had a few of them sitting around," Relena joked, a twinkle in her eye.

Odessa laughed. "I almost forgot about your fanatic obsession with these things," she remarked playfully to Strife, running her hands across the black leather seat. 

Strife ignored her and thanked both Heero and Relena profusely for their generosity. Then an awkward silence stretched between them. Not one of them wanted to believe that they were really leaving.

Heero was the first to break the uncomfortable silence. "Goodbye Odessa," he said seriously, extending a hand to the blue-haired woman standing next to him. 

Odessa just looked at him for a few moments and then completely ignored his outstretched hand to crush him with a tight hug. The shocked look on Heero's face was precious.

Relena started giggling and abruptly stopped as Strife hugged her gently. "Goodbye Relena," he said quietly. 

She pulled away, looked up at him and said solemnly, "Take care, Strife. Remember - those plane tickets are good for any country, just show them my signature and seal. And you have shuttle tickets too, in case you want to go to the Colonies."

Strife nodded. "Thank you," he replied sincerely. 

The blonde woman smiled and then a mischievous glint snaked into her liquid blue eyes. "I'll hunt you down if anything happens to Odessa, so you better take good care of her, Strife Mercury," she warned with mock severity.

Strife grinned. "I wouldn't want to cross the Vice Foreign Minister Darilan now would I?" he retorted dryly, eyeing the petite woman pointedly.

Relena opened her mouth to respond, but was smothered by a crushing hug from Odessa. As the two women began their teary farewell, Strife turned to face Heero who was leaning against the wall, alertly watching everything around him. The pale sunlight bathed his hair and face with golden light and turned his aura into a fair sky blue.

Strife walked over to where he was standing and asked casually, "You'll tell the other pilots that I said goodbye?" From what he had last heard, Duo was in the Colonies with Hilde, Trowa was back in the circus, and Quatre was running his family business. 

Heero nodded silently, staring at him with those intense blue eyes.

"Thank you for everything, Heero," Strife said to him solemnly. 

"No, thank _you_, Strife," the pilot responded, his steady gaze on Relena. She was clinging on to Odessa tightly, her eyes filled with tears.

Strife laughed ruefully, pushing back his dark messy hair. "Do we have to go through this _again_?"

Heero just looked at him, his face blank, but a swirl of wry amusement in his aura. 

Strife gradually sobered and said eventually, "We'll come back someday..." he trailed off, gazing into the distant horizon where the sun was rising into the sky, accompanied by pale pinks, purples, and oranges. The day had just begun, and it already looked fresh and inviting. "Heero...thank you for trusting me," he said finally to the pilot, not knowing how to put his feelings into words.

"Take care of yourself," Heero replied, with uncharacteristic warmth in his eyes and voice. He said more with the emotion in his voice than with his actual words. Strife could feel his sincerity and his vague sorrow. The grim Gundam pilot didn't want him to leave either...

"I will," he said quietly, and then offered Heero his hand. 

He gripped it firmly. "Goodbye, Strife."

"Goodbye, Heero."

The two men looked at each other with equal parts friendship and innate understanding of each other. Strife could sense that they would see each other again - someday...

Heero let go of his hand and motioned towards the motorcycle. "You better get going."

Strife smiled faintly and turned away, leaving the pilot by himself. He didn't feel a overwhelming depression, but just a dull sadness. Heero and Relena had become like family, and now he was going to have to leave them. Odessa was the only one he had left now...even Rag was no longer there for him and he felt decidedly unbalanced without her hanging quiescent on his back. But the pain of losing her was no longer quite so sharp...

He gently tapped Odessa on the shoulder, who was still fiercely hugging Relena. "It's time to go," he said somberly, hating the anguished expression on both of the women's faces. It made him feel like an executioner. 

Odessa turned to face him and left Relena with a final 'goodbye'. She neither looked at him or back at Relena. Strife was hurt by the black sadness in her aura, but he did not move to hug or comfort her like how Heero immediately moved to embrace Relena. He knew that Odessa would not appreciate it. She would get over losing her surrogate little sister in time.

Strife straddled the motorcycle and marveled at how well it suited him. It almost felt molded to his body - like an extension of himself instead of just a vehicle. Heero had chosen well. Plus, all of the controls were in a familiar location, except of course they were lacking the jet boosters and altitude control. 

He felt Odessa settle behind him and wrap her arms tightly around his waist. She was still silent. Strife did not disturb her.

He took one last look at Heero and Relena standing a few feet away, watching him gravely. Strife smiled at them warmly and bid his last farewell. He then looked thoughtfully at the road stretching before him. Familiar anticipation started to stir in his gut. Yes he was leaving Heero and Relena, but he was also going on another exciting adventure, embarking on a new journey, starting a new life. He was fondly reminded of one of Rag's favorite expressions. "Let's rock and roll," he murmured to himself as he throttled the engine and felt the motorcycle roar to life. 

He tore down the empty, quiet street and into the horizon, the wind rushing through his hair and Odessa pressed against his back. The Sanq Kingdom disappeared quickly behind him, until there was nothing left to see except the open road and the rising sun.

****************

AN: Yep...that's all folks. The end of The War of the Assassins. ::sniff:: Anyway, I tried writing an epilogue but it turned into more of a prologue so I decided not to post it as part of this fic. I will be writing about Strife and Odessa's children though, and it will be posted here under the category "Originals." It's called "Legacy." Thank you so much for your support and for reading my fic!!! [Cutlass317@aol.com][1]

   [1]: mailto:Cutlass317@aol.com



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